The Society lays a wreath at Ripon service of remembrance 2018.

Nov 12, 2018 | News

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As the country remembered the fallen on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, ending The first World War, the Society returned to Ripon, hosts of this year’s official Yorkshire Day celebrations.

Our Deputy Chairman, Geoff Walsh and Events Director, Linda Atkins, were invited by Ripon City Council to attend their Service of Remembrance, where Geoff laid a wreath on behalf of The Yorkshire Society and its members.
The People of Ripon really embraced Remembrance this year and there was hardly a shop, business or public building that wasn’t displaying poppies in some shape or form; poppies made from red carpet, representations of trenches and knitted poppies by the thousand.
The Cathedral had some spectacular displays including a stunning light projection on the outside and  the WW1 Remembrance sculpture ‘Fields of Mud-Seeds of Hope’. The sculpture which is 9m long by 3m wide, uses drying mud to depict five battle weary silhouettes returning home from the front.

They have used mud (something very familiar to so many World War 1 soldiers) from the the site of Ripon’s WW1 military hospital and the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 in Belgium. Deep within it millions of ungerminated poppy seeds lie dormant.

The day began with a procession from the Town Hall to the war memorial in The Spa Gardens. The service of Remembrance was very moving and, despite the pouring rain, over 1000 people from all walks of life, took part with many more lining the streets. After The Mayor had taken the salute, the procession moved on to the Cathedral for a second service, the highlight of which was the presentation of poppies bearing the names of all those from Ripon who died in WW1 by children from local schools.

This will now become a Yorkshire Society tradition, where a wreath will be laid on Remembrance Day in the town or city hosting that year’s official Yorkshire Day.

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