Syston Commemorates D-Day 80 Years On
On Thursday 6th June, The Royal British Legion (RBL) assisted by Syston Town Council (STC) organised an event on Central Park.
The weather was kind and people started arriving around 6pm to find a small fair provided by Billy Bates and some stalls still being set up.
An enactment group arrived with a vintage jeep and looked the part.
One poignant moment was when Dennis North’s family laid flowers on his commemorative bench facing the Memorial. Dennis was awarded with the Ordre De La Legion d’Honneur in 2019 for his service on board ship in the D-day landings, he was the Helmsman on HMS Vivacious a minesweeper, his ship made numerous crossing of the channel taking men and materials to the French coast, finally escorting the Mulberry Harbour. Sadly Dennis passed away two years ago, but his family were proud to remember him on this special day.
Our picture above shows his granddaughter Emma with her husband Phillip and RBL Veteran Paul Baxter after the floral tributes had been laid.
Syston is very proud of its men and women who fought and served during WW2 and occasions like these are important to remember their bravery and sacrifice.
The Syston Band performed at 7.00pm, followed at 8.00pm by Sarah Clarke Syston RBL’s official singer who sang some songs from the period, which were enjoyed by many, she even sang a song or two on the jeep.
Around the same time the RBL Riders arrived and parked up next to the RBL gazebos which housed information about D-day, including a newspaper from the time and a map showing the beaches. Paul Baxter had made a model of the one of the beaches to give people an idea of what took place, see image below. A lot of SKB’s toppers that have been donated to the RBL were also on display.
“Talking to the RBL Riders, pictured above, was my favourite thing to do for the Stn. It was an honour to learn so much about what they do and why they do it and their bikes were an absolute spectacle and to photograph them myself for the Stn and for my own portfolio was so exciting.
The gazebo which housed the information about D-Day was incredible to look at and the newspaper clipping from the very day was a donation to the RBL that someone had kept in perfect condition, so that was in itself, a beautiful thing to look at, the model of one of the beaches really opened my eyes to the idea of how those beaches looked.” says Stn PA, Deanna Johnson
The Lord Lieutenant Mike Kapaur MBE arrived about 8.30pm and was greeted by the Chairman of Syston Town Council, Cllr John Lucas. The Lord Lieutenant gave the tribute at 9.00pm and lit a lantern for peace, see our picture left, after which he and everyone moved to surround the square cordon around the lantern, which when unlit belayed its beauty.
The Syston Army Cadets were on parade, pictured below, and the enactment group provided four men to stand on the corners of the boundary. The RBL Riders along with members of the public stood in silence while veteran Paul Baxter RBL Lit the beacon, pictured above right, at 9.15pm and the beauty of the lantern was visible for all to see.
The National Anthem was played by Syston Band and everyone stood for a moments silence, before making their way home.
The event as a whole was lovely to see and it was so nice to see the community come together in the sunshine to remember those who sacrificed their lives and it was amazing to talk to so many people with so many stories.
