5:50pm Wednesday 11th November 2009
By Emma Palmer
BASILDON
WAR veterans, shoppers and families bowed their heads in quiet dignity as the clock struck 11am on Armistice Day.
At precisely 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, a hushed atmosphere filled the Eastgate Centre, in Basildon, to mark the special date.
Hundreds of shoppers joined ex-servicemen and women in respecting the two minutes silence to remember the war dead, as well as those serving abroad in conflicts today.
And while there was commeration for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, there was also celebration at the shopping centre, as a record £40,000 has been raised this year for its Poppy Appeal to support the Royal British Legion.
Hans Wusterfeld, manager of the Eastgate Centre, said: “Among our poppy sellers were representatives of the Normandy Veterans Association, in what has been a very special year – the 65th anniversary of the D Day landings. It is also the last year the association will officially exist.”
Hans, who was born in Holland and whose home village was liberated by allied troops during the Second World War, is patron of the Basildon and Laindon Branch of the Royal British Legion, as well as the patron of South Essex Normandy Veterans Association.
He added: “We understand, as of a couple of days ago, poppy sale donations topped more than £41,000. That is 12 per cent more than last year, which was itself a record.
“This is a tribute to all those who have given their lives for freedom, and we thank all of our visitors for making this fantastic achievement possible.”
Mr Wustefeld, is planning to return to his home village next year for a poignant visit along with several Normandy veterans from Basildon.
SOUTHEND
WAR veterans stood shoulder to shoulder as they fell silent to honour those fallen in conflict.
Members of the Southend Royal Air Force Association stood on parade in Southend High Street for the two-minute silence to mark Armistice Day.
Chairman of the association, Andrew Colvin, served as a warrant officer in the Air Force from 1943 until 1947, after joining up in Scotland.
He said: “I had one year’s fully operational service then went out to the Far East organising post offices with a team of other servicemen. I went to Karachi, Bombay, Singapore and Hong Kong, then we were posted to Burma.
“I was the only survivor from my team. The rest of them were blown up and I was in hospital for nine months.”
Shoppers and traders in the High Street paused at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month to show their respect.
Southend mayor Brian Smith also attended with his wife, Lyn, as well as scores of passers-by. Mr Smith said: “The silence reminds us of two things now. The first is remembering the soldiers that were lost to keep us a free country. The second is to think of those soldiers in conflict now.”
Representatives from the Armed Forces, council, police, and fire service also attended the two-minute silence.
CASTLE POINT
A SOLEMN crowd of more than 70 people gathered in Hadleigh town centre to remember soldiers who have lost their lives fighting for their country.
The moving service, led by members of the Salvation Army’s Hadleigh Temple, in a quiet corner of Morrisons car park, began with prayers and a hymn accompanied by the Salvation Army’s band.
Leading the service, Major Gillian Dicker paid tribute to the soldiers of the First World War. She said: “Memories will soon pass. They will pass from living memory to the pages of history, where the sacrifices of lives lived and lost should never be left to gather dust on the bookshelves.”
The names of the 41 Hadleigh men killed during the four-year conflict were read to the crowd, before Major Dicker paid tribute to members of today’s Armed Forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She said: “None of us could fail to have been moved by the sight of young men returning from war in coffins. “War continues to claim the lives of young men and women and we remember them too.
“Remember those whose grief is so raw at this moment in time. Remember those who are fearful for the lives of their young men and women. It’s a live issue. “The true cost of war is had with flesh, with blood and with tears.”
The band sounded the Last Post before the two-minute silence began. Shoppers returning to their cars stopped to observe the silence, the only sound the steady drone of traffic along London Road.
Castle Point mayor Cliff Brunt was among those at the service. He said: “I thought it was a very moving service and very poignant. The prayers about today’s Armed Forces were very touching.
“Although we do need to remember the First and Second World Wars, there are conflicts going on now. “It is important to remember them,especially the victims coming home.”
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