Syston Twinning In Deville les Rouen
A small delegation of Syston Twinning visited our twinned town of Deville les Rouen in Normandy, France to take part in the Armistice Parade on Tuesday 11th November.
Everyone taking part in the parade gathered outside the Town Hall (Marie) and after many greetings the Fire service (sapeurs-pompiers) formed up and led the parade which included councillors wearing their red, white and blue sashes and the children’s councillors also wearing red, white and blue sashes. Followed by the twinning and other associations from the town.
It is quite a challenging walk up a steep hill which near the cemetery is almost a 45 degree angle!
When arriving at the cemetery, the band introduced the speeches and at 11am we held the two minutes silence. Deville les Rouen have three memorials and the service moves from the military one to one that honours members of the public and resistance who lost their lives and then the third one is for the fire-service personnel lost.
The parade reforms and marches back down the hill to the Cultural centre where the band played outside while inside was a glass of bubbly and small savoury and sweet snacks.
The Mayoress thanked our delegation for attending and we received a round of applause, something we have never experienced before, which was very moving.
We had a photograph (not shown) taken in front of the British telephone box that one of the members purchased and transported over to Deville les Rouen from Syston, many years ago. It stands in pride of place in the window of the cultural centre for all to see.
