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Marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day on Friday, May 8th
Dignitaries from Hull and East Riding are to lead the region in a virtual ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day on Friday, May 8th.
HM Lord-Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire, Jim Dick OBE; the newly appointed High Sheriff of East Yorkshire, Andrew Horncastle MBE, and the Right Reverend Alison White, the Bishop of Hull, will take part in the ceremony which culminates in the Nation’s Toast to the Heroes of WWII at 3pm.
To help mark the occasion KCOM will be joining forces with the celebrants and hosting the ceremony on its Facebook page, starting at exactly 2.46pm. You can watch it in full at https://www.facebook.com/KCOMhome/.
They will be joined by the Town Crier for the East Riding of Yorkshire, Michael Wood, who will open proceedings, and Ken Simmonds, Chairman of the Hull Branch of the Royal British Legion, who will perform a reading.
Bugler Mark Norrie will play the Last Post and piper and serving police officer Daniel Fleming will play the traditional tune, Battle’s O’er.
A wreath will be laid by Rod Evans, County Chairman of the Royal British Legion North and East Yorkshire, and the ceremony will end with God Save the Queen sung by the Hull Minister Virtual Choir, who also perform the hymn Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer as part of the ceremony.
Lord-Lieutenant, Jim Dick OBE, said the idea for the online ceremony came about after the traditional church services and other events to mark this important occasion had to be cancelled due to lockdown.
“With such a large number of events unable to go ahead, we are trying to capture a flavour what would have been happening this weekend if it wasn’t for the coronavirus,” he said.
“VE Day is such a part of our history and culture, not to commemorate its 75th anniversary would be to let down the veterans and everyone else who fought for the freedoms we enjoy today.”
Everyone participating in the ceremony has done so from their own home, using video conferencing technology or mobile phones, ensuring they conform to the government’s advice around the COVID-19 outbreak.
As a result, the production quality of the 15-minute video is not outstanding, but the team behind it hope it goes some way to capturing the emotions of the day.
Andrew Horncastle MBE said the 75th anniversary of VE Day was an extremely important occasion to mark and should not be forgotten because of the current conditions.
He said: “Once it was confirmed that events and celebrations marking this important occasion couldn’t go ahead, I felt strongly that we needed to mark it in another way, so we formed a team to put this ceremony together at very short notice.
“We are inviting everyone in Hull and East Riding to join us on Friday to mark this wonderful occasion and be sure to charge your glasses for the traditional toast at 3pm.”
The Right Reverend Alison White, who introduces the ceremony and leads the region in prayer, added: “It is so important for us to find ways to unite together in these challenging times and pay tribute to our heroes in every generation.”
The full programme for the celebration is: