Stories of local veterans will be heard at a service in Ipswich Today
It will take place at the First and Second World War graves at the Old Cemetery. The mayor of Ipswich will be joined by schoolchildren and veterans
Children and Veterans will be gathered at the First and Second World War graves at the Old Cemetery with the Mayor of Ipswich today for a service ahead of Remembrance Day.
This is a part of multiple events happening across Suffolk to commemorate Remembrance Day, honouring armed forces members who have died in the line of duty.
Mayor of Ipswich Lynne Mortimer shared some stories with us of some of the people they will be remembering. Reginald of Solomon Jeffries.
Her Grandfather Reginald of Solomon Jeffries
She told us her Grandfather, Reginald of Solomon Jeffries, lived at "Chesapeake Road, in Ipswich with his wife and four children, 3 girls and a boy" he was an "ordinary chap" who at 39 years old was a reservist. .
He was "a great letter writer" and wrote 95 letters to his wife during the time he was away.
The penultimate letter, will be read out at the ceremony today by Lynn's husband and consort James Hayward.
Her Grandfather was stationed in France and was on a troop ship called the RMS Lancastria.
This boat is tragically infamous the Mayor revealed "A bomb dropped down the funnel of the ship and it blew up."
They believe there were between 4 thousand and 7 thousand people who were killed on that ship, making it " the biggest loss of life in a single bombing."
George Punchard
George Punchard fought in the First World War, he was a bandsman and a stretcher bearer but eventually fought on the front line.
He lived on Bishop's Hill in Ipswich and "he kept little scraps of paper with his notes all over his uniform. "
After the war, George brought back all of these notes and wrote two volumes including these, talking about his time on the front line. - Excerpts of his diaries will be read out today.
Dr Kurt Erich GlauberKurt Glauber
A memorial to Dr Kurt Erich Glauber was unveiled in the Jewish part of the cemetery.
He started as a Lawyer in Vienna, Austria but fled to England when troops began invading Austria in 1938 as Jews were banned from practising.
According to the Mayor of Ipswich "he came to Ipswich where he worked in a laundry on Bramford Road until he was recruited by MI6 to be a spy for them."
He was then placed behind enemy lines and he worked as a radio operator, "transmitting vital information back-to-back to England."
However, "he was betrayed" and captured before being transported to Mauthausen concentration camp, where he passed away.
Mayor Lynne Mortimer describes him as a "unsung hero for all that time."
Why it's important to remember?
We asked Mayor Lynne Mortimer why it's important to continue to pass on these stories to the younger generation. She told us she heard a saying when she visited Auschwitz that is along the lines of...
"We are doomed to relive the past if we forget it."
"That is why it's important. We need to know what other people have sacrificed for our freedoms. If we don't protect them and look out for them, we run the risk of losing them."