By Betsy Everett
Along with towns and villages throughout the country Askrigg will mark the centenary of the end of the First World War on Sunday with a series of services and events based at its parish church, St Oswald’s.
The solemn ceremony of Remembrance and laying of wreaths, commemorating the dead of both world wars, will begin at 10.30am and will be led by the Revd Vera Sinton. The half-muffled church bells will be rung at the start of the service and at 11am the two minutes’ silence will be observed.
From 4-5.15pm there will be a chance for the community to gather again for a free afternoon tea and a display of First and Second World War memorabilia from the parishes of Askrigg and Bainbridge. The Askrigg Ladies Sing for Pleasure group, led by Diana Hartley, will sing.
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At 6.30pm there will be a candlelit vigil at the market cross, with readings and prayers, and the Last Post will be played on a bugle belonging to James Preston, a young Askrigg soldier and musician who died of his wounds in 1917. If it’s raining this will be held in the church itself.
Then at 7.05pm the church bells will ring out from St Oswald’s again. The ceremony will end with the national anthem and a blessing. The candlelit church will remain open for private prayers and reflection, and candles on the two war graves in the cemetery will also be lit. Residents are being asked to place a lighted candle in their windows in memory of those who died in both world wars.
More floral displays created for the commemorations by the flower ladies. . .
