Posted on: Thursday 22 October 2020
Remembrance Day is an important date in the nation’s annual calendar.
This year however, additional precautions are required to comply with the latest Coronavirus regulations.
Remembrance Sunday events will be arranged with the minimum amount of attendees to ensure they can adhere to the latest Welsh Government guidance on gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sadly, as a result of this, no public parades will take place on the day.
Instead, this year Torfaen Council is supporting the Royal British Legion by encouraging residents to ‘remember’ at home; by watching televised events and sharing memories, photographs and tributes online.
The Royal British Legion is still at the heart of Remembrance commemorations nationally, and to ensure adherence to Covid-19 rules, they have set out a list of suggested activities that residents can take part in from the comfort of their own home. They include:
- Have a small Remembrance service in your garden
- Create a small Remembrance space in your garden, for example planting plants that have a connection to Remembrance
- Use zoom/Facebook live event or another appropriate online meeting resource to host an online Remembrance service / activity
- Set-up a community Remembrance forum to discuss different residents’ Remembrance stories
- Create an online exhibition of Remembrance related photos from local residents that schools or others could use to discuss local Remembrance activities
For more suggestions on how you can 'remember' safely at home, please visit the Royal British Legion website, where you will find a wealth of resources.
Torfaen Armed Forces Champion, Councillor Alan Jones, said: 'The Remembrance period is vitally important to us all, in order that we can honour the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community.
‘It is with regret that we cannot celebrate and remember in the usual way, but the safety of the public and all who would normally attend, particularly our older generation who are more vulnerable at this time, remains paramount.
‘Please remember to ‘remember’ at home, follow the COVID19 rules that remain in place and help keep Torfaen safe.’
Torfaen Council Leader, Councillor Anthony Hunt said: 'We are extremely proud of our Armed Forces community, and this year’s Remembrance day will of course be commemorated, but in a different way to usual.
‘Although it will be a little bit different this year, we are all still able to come together virtually to remember all the service men and women who bravely fought and gave their lives in order to give us the freedoms that we rightly celebrate today.'