Events in Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds for Remembrance

A Remembrance event was held at the cenotaph in Christchurch Park in Ipswich, organised by the Royal British Legion and Ipswich Borough Council, on Sunday morning.

The event was particularly poignant as it also marked the centenary of the cenotaph in the park, which was unveiled in May 1924. 

The cenotaph in Ipswich is now 100 years old (Image: Lucy Taylor)

The Rt Rev Martin Seeley, Bishop of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocese, said during the event: “I am particularly honoured to give the address this year as we celebrate the centenary of the unveiling of the Ipswich cenotaph.

“The cenotaph has 2,811 names from the First and Second World Wars and from later conflicts, and the families and friends of many of those named continue to live in Ipswich.

Ipswich mayor Elango Elavalakan and former mayor Lynne Mortimer in attendance (Image: Lucy Taylor)

“Their stories keep our Remembrance observance rooted in real lives of people with whom many of us are connected, and our honouring them is so important as we strive for peace in our own day.”

A memorial to the fallen in Christchurch Park (Image: Lucy Taylor)

During a ceremony outside the entrance to the main campus at Suffolk New College in Ipswich on Friday, staff and students remembered the fallen.

Public services students - many of whom hope to go on to serve in the armed forces - marched in formation.

Public service students joined the ceremony outside the main entrance to Suffolk New College. (Image: Suffolk New College) Lecturer and Falklands War veteran Martin Memory oversaw the ceremony.

Martin Memory at Suffolk New College's Remembrance event (Image: Suffolk New College) He said: “It (the service) means I reflect on the Falklands conflict. I was part of the Royal Navy at that time.”

Mr Memory, who lost shipmates during the conflict, added: “Remembrance is very personal to me.”

Representatives from various religions read tributes during the Suffolk New College service of remembrance (Image: Suffolk New College)

About 400 people from the community fell silent at a remembrance commemoration at West Suffolk College's Built Environment campus in Bury St Edmunds on Friday.

Rion Lewis in the foreground falls silent to remember - Rion, 22, from Bury St Edmunds, is an assistant technician at West Suffolk College and helped created the D-Day mural and cenotaph (Image: Eastern Education Group.) A large mural depicting a scene from D-Day to mark the 70th anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy was unveiled.

Members of the Royal British Legion fall silent by the newly created West Suffolk College cenotaph (Image: Eastern Education Group.) The ceremony also saw the unveiling of a cenotaph which will become a permanent feature of the campus to remember those who lost their lives in combat, and staff and students who have died.

Youngsters from Stanton Primary School sang two songs during a ceremony that their teacher said was 'beautiful' (Image: Eastern Education Group.) A bench restored by carpentry and joinery students commemorating Normandy veterans was placed next to the cenotaph and will become a permanent fixture at the site. 

Keith Reeve with his dog Penny at the West Suffolk College Remembrance event (Image: Eastern Education Group.) Rev cannon Tiffer Robinson, the vicar of St Mary’s and St Peter’s in Bury St Edmunds, oversaw the service.

Representatives from the Royal British Legion supported the West Suffolk College remembrance event (Image: Eastern Education Group.) Members of the armed forces, care home residents, the Royal British Legion and students and youngsters from Stanton Primary School attended the ceremony.

Performing arts students from a group called Acado sang a tribute in Bury (Image: Eastern Education Group.) Brian Tunbridge, a carpentry and joinery lecturer at the college, said: "We are always proud to do our bit by looking back and reflecting."