Lord Mayor to lead Remembrance Sunday tributes

The Lord Mayor will lead the city’s tribute to servicemen and women who lost their lives in service of their country at Victoria Gardens on Sunday, 8 November. 

Leading a procession of dignitaries from Leeds Civic Hall at 10:50am, the Lord Mayor’s party will fall in behind a parade of ex-servicemen and women, veterans’ organisations, and current serving military personnel, who will lead a march from Rossington Street to the war memorial.

Amongst those joining the Lord Mayor to lay wreaths at the cenotaph will be HM Vice Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Helen Thomson DL, and the deputy leader of council, Councillor Salma Arif, together with members of parliament and other political representatives, the new Children’s Mayor of Leeds, Bahrawar Ahmad, and family representatives of the fallen.

The multi-faith service at the war memorial will be led by the Right Reverend Arun Arora, Bishop of Kirkstall, with contributions from the Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu faiths.

At 11am, attendees will join the rest of the nation in a two-minute silence, which will be preceded by a bugler sounding the Last Post. The service will be broadcast on two big screens located in Victoria Gardens to allow members of the public who are not near the front to watch the proceedings.

Following the service, the Lord Mayor and civic representatives will move to Millennium Square, where a salute and march past will take place.

The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Stephen Holroyd, said: “The act of remembrance is an opportunity to come together as one community to pay tribute to those who laid down their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today.

“That is why it’s my great honour to welcome everybody in Leeds to Victoria Gardens and lead the city in saying thank you for the service and sacrifices of the British and Commonwealth armed forces of the two world wars and all other conflicts since 1945. 

“We also use the occasion to recognise the sacrifices of those who have lost their lives due to conflict or terrorism and mark the vital role played by the emergency services and civilians.

“I hope you will join me in marking this tremendously poignant and moving occasion.”

Originally instituted to remember those lost in the First World War, the Remembrance Sunday service is held every year on the second Sunday in November, the closest Sunday to Armistice Day on 11 November. Today, the service commemorates the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian men and women of two world wars and all the conflicts since 1945.

To mark Armistice Day on Wednesday 11 November, there will be a short service from 10:50 at Victoria Gardens War Memorial, Leeds, with wreaths laid by the Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Professor Adeeba Malik MBE and the Lord Mayor.