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Dec
Candlelit remembrance ceremony to be held in Harrogate
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An annual Christmas remembrance ceremony will be held in Harrogate this weekend.
The Candlelit Christmas Remembrance will take place at 3.30pm on Sunday (December 14) at the Stonefall Cemetery.
The memorial service, organised by the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWGF), is in its seventh year.
Members of the public will be provided with candles to place on the graves of the fallen, which will be followed by a short service of remembrance.
The event was the inspiration of local woman Benji Walker, who had seen images of CWGC cemeteries in Europe lit by candlelight.
Ms Walker, whose son served in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment and now works for the CWGC, will be using the event to raise money for the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation and Help for Heroes.
She said:
This year we have marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and I feel it is important today to pay tribute to the sacrifice of those who gave everything to serve this country.
The event is a chance for people to come together to remember the sacrifice of the hundreds of CWGC casualties buried at Stonefall, many of them thousands of miles from home. As the candles are placed, we will encourage all those attending to remember each casualty by name as a reminder that behind each headstone is a person.
With more than 1,000 Commonwealth war graves, Stonefall Cemetery in Harrogate is one of the largest CWGC sites in the North of England.
Many of the burials are airmen who died during the Second World War when bomber command bases were established across Yorkshire. Over 600 of the casualties served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and include two 17-year-olds.
CWGC Public Engagement Coordinator, Elizabeth Smith, said:
The service gives people the opportunity to take a pause from the busyness of Christmas and to pay their respects to the fallen in a very poignant way.
At the end of the Second World War local people were encouraged to adopt the war graves of the Canadian servicemen at Stonefall Cemetery and lay wreaths on behalf of their families at Christmas. We are carrying on that tradition of remembrance through this service.
Those wishing to attend the service are advised to dress warmly, wear solid shoes and bring torches.
The meeting point is the war graves plot adjacent to Forest Lane. Parking is available in the cemetery car park off Forest Lane.
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