Remembrance Sunday events in Dorset
The county's honouring those who made the ultimate sacrifice
Events are taking place in Dorset today (Sunday 12th November) to give thanks to those who laid down their lives for our freedoms.
Remembrance Sunday's being marked with a number of local services.
They include at Weymouth's Cenotaph on the Promenade from 10.55am.
The Town's Mayor, Kate Wheller and her Chaplain, Reverend Betty Port will be joined by serving armed forces personnel, veterans, councillors and the public for the service.
At 11.00am, members of the Nothe Fort Garrison will fire the first cannon from the beach, signalling the start of the two-minute silence, followed by a second at 11.02am to mark the end.
There will be a wreath laying service at the Cenotaph followed by a parade along the Esplanade to the US Memorial Service where a short wreath laying ceremony will also take place.
A new interpretation board has been unveiled at the Greenhill Gardens site - to honour the memory of those American troops that left the steps there, to the boats bound for Normandy.
Mayor of Weymouth, Cllr Kate Wheller, said:
“I am honoured to lay a wreath on behalf of the Town Council and the people of Weymouth at the service of Remembrance this Sunday. This is a time to pay tribute to those who courageously fight and lay down their lives; their sacrifices must never be forgotten.
“This is always a particularly poignant occasion with Weymouth’s proud history with all our Armed Forces. And I’m grateful to local resident Tim Goodwin and the Friends of Greenhill Gardens for bringing another piece of this history to life which people can see at Greenhill Gardens. A new interpretation board has been installed ahead of Remembrance Sunday to remember those US soldiers who made their way down the steps and along the seafront before leaving our shores for France all those years ago in 1944.”
There'll be some road closures in place for the Weymouth event.
The Esplanade from William Street to King Street will be closed to traffic from 10.00am until around 12.00pm.
Traffic diversions will also be in effect from 12.00pm until approximately 12.30pm along The Esplanade between King Street and the Kings Statue for the US Memorial Wreath Laying Ceremony.
Local diversions will be fully signed and pedestrian access will be maintained at all times.
No parking will be allowed between Lennox Street to Astrid Way by the Pier Bandstand and the loading bay adjacent Enzo’s Restaurant between 8.00am and 12.00pm.
Wimborne marking Remembrance
A service will be held at Wimborne Minster this afternoon from 3.00pm.
That will be conducted by The Rector of Wimborne Minster, The Reverend Canon Andrew J W Rowland, and assisted by other clergy of the Town.
The address will be given by The Reverend William French, Chaplain of Wimborne Royal British Legion.
Before the service commences there will be a parade, starting from the Royal British Legion on West Borough and eventually ending at The Minster for 3.00pm when the Remembrance Service will commence.
After the Remembrance Service individuals and organisations will gather at the War Memorial on Minster Green and will be invited to lay wreaths remembering all the fallen of past and current wars - this will be followed by a two-minute silence.
Swanage Padre's final Remembrance service
An Army Chaplain will mark the culmination of a distinguished and varied career in the military at a Remembrance service in his hometown today.
22 years after joining the Army as a systems engineering technician with The Royal Signals, Padre Ken Adolphe, who grew up in Swanage, will lead the town’s main Remembrance service at St Mary’s Church.
The 44-year-old joined the forces in 2001 but, due to his faith, decided to follow his calling in 2007 and retrained as a Padre, before returning to the military in this field eight years later:
“I trained to be a Baptist Minister at Bristol Baptist College for three years, then spent three years as a Newly Accredited Minister in a church in North Dorset. After a short stint as a hospital chaplain, I joined the Royal Army Chaplains Department in 2015.
“I spent six weeks on the Chaplains Foundation Course and 11 weeks at Sandhurst on the Professionally Qualified Commissioning Course. My first unit as a padre was with the Queen’s Dragoon Guards (QDG).
As he signs off from his military career, Ken is grateful for his perfect goodbye. He said:
“The opportunity to spend my last Remembrance in the Army in my hometown with my original Corps is a very special farewell for me."