THE fallen were remembered in Hexham over the weekend at the town's Remembrance Day service and Peace Walk.
Hexham Town Twinning Association and Hexham Town Council organised the Armistice Day Peace Walk on Saturday, November 11 while the Town Council organised the official Remembrance Day event on Sunday, November 12.
More than 120 people from Hexham and surrounding areas gathered at the bandstand in the Abbey Grounds for the Peace Walk.
It began with a Ukrainian song from Yaryna Kvitka and messages of peace from mayors of Hexham's twin towns of Noyon in France and Metzingen in Germany read by Hexham’s mayor, Derek Kennedy.
People gathered at the war memorial where poems were read.
Caroline Westgate, who helped organise the Peace Walk, said: "The Peace Walk is a friendly family-oriented event, for those that are bothered, deeply worried and saddened by the state of the world.
"It’s not in any way to detract from the casualties of war and those who died for their country; it’s a way of saying 'do we have to keep on doing this, do we have to keep on trying to solve problems by shooting each other'. All wars end up around a negotiating table. Why does it have to be a massive pile of bodies that accrue first, before that happens?”
The Peace Walk gathered at the community centre where Una Clay-Wallers and Freya Villiers-Stewart from Hexham Middle School performed songs they had written, and the history of Hexham House was shared, where the basement was planned as a nuclear war bunker during the Cold War.
Town and county councillor Suzanne Fairless-Aitken, who is chair of the Remembrance Committee, said: “This year the Peace Walk is needed more than ever. The word 'Armistice' literally means 'stop the war' and the walk marks the need for peace - often harder to achieve than war. People need diplomacy and aid more than guns and bombs.
"We never seem to learn from the mistakes of history. Shalom and Salaam mean ‘peace' in Hebrew and Arabic and the roots of the words are similar. It's so sad that we cannot see the similarities rather than the differences.
"Hexham Town Council was proud to host our annual Remembrance service. As usual, thousands showed up to pay respects to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. It was extremely moving, especially with the local, human stories behind the names etched in stone, as read out by our mayor.
"As chair of the Remembrance Committee, our volunteers put in a huge amount of time organising the parade and will continue to do so. We need to remember the horrors of war for service personnel and civilians more than ever this year."
Mayor Derek Kennedy said: "Remembrance Sunday as ever was well attended by the public paying their respects to those who have served their country. I read a poem from Hexham’s Great War poet Wilfred Gibson, plus I read a number of short biographies of those who are named on the war memorial who fell during the conflict. I read messages of peace from our twin town mayors of Noyon, France and Metzingen, Germany.
"It is an emotional day and we thank the Armed Services, clergy and all the other volunteers. On Saturday, the Cadets and Hexham Town Council laid poppy crosses at the 50 military graves in Hexham cemetery. There was also a wreath laying at the Hexham Hospital."
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