Letter: Town out of step with the rest of the country (From The Westmorland Gazette)
When news happens, text KENEWS and your photos and videos to 80360. Or contact us by email or phone.
Letter: Town out of step with the rest of the country
5:01pm Thursday 22nd November 2012 in Opinion
Some of my earliest memories are of being at the Cenotaph in Kendal Market Place with my family, many of who had been in the Armed Forces in both the World Wars and in later conflicts.
My maternal grandfather, Serjeant James Henry Wilson, of The Border Regiment, has his name inscribed on the Cenotaph. My mother was involved with the British Legion and took me round with her selling poppies door to door every year.
Later, first with the Cubs and then the Scouts, I attended the Remembrance Day service ceremonies at the Cenotaph. Then work and my own growing family caused me to drift away from attending.
In recent years, with a son who is a serving soldier, I have tried to attend the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday only to find that, although wreaths are laid there at 10am and people gather informally at 11am for the two-minutes’ silence, the main service no longer takes place there.
Someone in an organisat-ion some years ago decided the Kendal Parish Church should be the place to hold it.
I am not really interested in going to church and I know there are many more who feel as I do. If it is not taking place at the traditional location in the Market Place in Kendal, I would much rather watch the Whitehall ceremony on TV.
Last week’s newspapers and regional television news programmes carried pictures of ceremonies taking place all round the country at cenotaphs/war memorials, in the traditional manner, in the open air. It would seem Kendal is seriously out of step with the rest of the country.
I would urge whoever is responsible for the organisation of Remem-brance Sunday events in Kendal to restore the traditional Market Place service and then all those who want to, can march to the parish church afterwards. After all, if it is good enough for the Royal Family it should be good enough for the people of Kendal.
Trevor Cotton, Oxenholme
Comments(5)
Nick Owen
says...
5:52pm Fri 23 Nov 12
Yes, let's remember ALL who have died in conflicts all over the world, but let's not presume religious belief..
KendalSmithy
says...
11:55pm Fri 23 Nov 12
I still fail to see why Mr Cotton is uneasy, or does he, perhaps, see the Market Place Cenotaph as sacred in some way? And why is it necessary to conform 'religiously' to the pattern followed by the rest of the country? Are we not allowed to do things our own way in Kendal?
Kendmoor
says...
6:37pm Wed 28 Nov 12
JimTraficantforPresident
says...
11:07am Thu 29 Nov 12
KendalSmithy, you seem to be the one with the problem.
Trevor Cotton is pointing out that the Remembrance Sunday ceremony traditionally took place at the Cenotaph in Kendal, as it similarly does all over the country, including Whitehall. The Market Place Cenotaph is a memorial to the Kendal and district war dead and as such was and is the logical place for any memorial service.
KendalSmithy says...
10:59pm Thu 22 Nov 12
If Mr Cotton finds churches creepy it's something he needs to deal with on a personal level, rather than asking everybody else to pander to his irrational foibles.