An estimated 3,000 people gathered at the War Memorial in Spa Gardens and along Ripon’s ancient streets and Market Place, as the city paid its respects this morning to the fallen of two world wars and other conflicts

Wreaths were laid as Andrew Cowie, president of the Ripon Branch of the Royal British Legion (pictured below, left), read out almost 400 local names from Akers to Young, who gave their lives in the service of this country.

Deputy Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Richard Compton, representing King Charles III and Mayor Councillor Sid Hawke representing the city, were among the first to put wreaths in place.

Later, they took the salute outside the town hall (pictured above) as Ripon City Band led the march past along Market Place South and down Kirkgate to the cathedral, where a civic service of remembrance, attended by members of the city council and other dignitaries, was held.

The service was led by the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Revd. Anna Eltringham, who had earlier been with the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson and Canon Matthew Pollard, for the Remembrance Sunday prayers and hymns in Spa Gardens.

Ripon’s Royal Engineers (pictured above) who have had the Freedom of the City since 1949, were among the service personnel, Air Cadets, Army Cadets and members of uniformed organisations who took part in the parade.

Main picture: The Mayor of Ripon Councillor Sid Hawke, laid a wreath on behalf of the city at this morning’s Remembrance Service at Ripon War Memorial.

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The Harrogate district has been adorned in poppies in the lead up to this weekend’s Remembrance Day.

Scores of poppies have been put up in Ripon, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, Boroughbridge and Masham and in villages in between in honour of the fallen.

Bilton Community Centre is among the organisations to mark remembrance with a wall display.

Neil and Sonya Milsted Funeral Directors, which is based on Hookstone Chase, has created a display in the shape of a poppy featuring old photographs of servicemen.

Meanwhile, Ripon Spa Gardens and Knaresborough Station are also adorned in poppies ahead of Sunday.

Remembrance services will be held across the district this coming weekend. You can read a list of the commemorations here.

Ripon Spa Gardens

Bilton Community Centre

Bilton Ladies Forum members have made many of the poppies on Bilton Community. Centre.

Knaresborough rail station

Neil and Sonya Milsted Funeral Directors’s display.

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The non-stop knitters of Ripon Community Poppy Project have transformed the city centre with their Easter displays.

Members of the project’s Knit and Natter Club and many more who work from home, have been creating the decorations since September and their meticulous handiwork can be seen around Market Square and other key locations.

The intricate displays, made up from 1,360 knitted eggs, more than 2,000 hand-crafted chain links and 53 woollen pictures featuring spring lambs, chicks, rabbits and flowers, have been fixed to railings, the Ripon Town Hall balcony and this post box (pictured above).

Hazel Barker, who co-founded the RCPP with former Ripon mayor Councillor Stuart Martin, told the Stray Ferret:

“Our knitters work all year round creating displays for annual events including Remembrance commemorations in November and Winter Wonderland at Christmas.”

Councillor Stuart Martin (right) putting a display in place with Carol Dunkley and Bob McLennan

She added:

“In 2022, we took on the mammoth task of creating miles of royal-themed banners and other decorations that were wrapped around the city’s streets to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

“Now we are busily adapting these as well as creating new displays to mark the coronation of King Charles III.”

Ms Barker added:

“The Ripon Community Poppy Project was launched in 2018 to create displays for the city to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I and we haven’t stopped knitting ever since!”

The main pic shows an Easter display with (from left): Hazel Barker, Lyn Hart, Betty Hardisty, David Hardisty, Sandra Searle, Alwyn Hartley and Pat McLennan.

More than 1,000 servicemen who died in the two World Wars are to be honoured at a candlelit Christmas remembrance event in Harrogate. 

Members of the public are invited to join the event, which will be held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) site at Stonefall Cemetery on Sunday, December 18 at 3.30pm.  

Visitors will be provided with battery-operated tealights to place on the graves of the fallen, which will be followed by a short service of remembrance. 

Stonefall is one of the largest CWGC sites in the North of England and holds 1,013 Commonwealth casualties, 988 of them airmen who died during the Second World War, when Bomber Command bases were established across Yorkshire. 

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Two thirds of these are Canadian – including two 17-year-olds – and there are also graves of servicemen from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Caribbean. Many of them died in the military wing of Harrogate General Hospital. 

Local resident Benji Walker, who conceived and organised the event, said:

“I feel it’s as important today as it was at the time to recognise the sacrifice of those who gave everything to serve this country. The Candlelit Christmas Remembrance is a chance for the local community to gather to remember the sacrifice of the hundreds of CWGC casualties buried at Stonefall, many of them thousands of miles from home.”  

Mr Walker, who has a son serving in the Yorkshire Regiment, will be using the event to raise money for the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation and Help for Heroes. Members of the public can sponsor a candle with the profits being split between Help for Heroes and the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWGF).  

CWGC public engagement coordinator Elizabeth Smith said:

“We’re grateful to what Benji has inspired here, a chance for people from all over the world to pay their respects to the fallen at a unique site, and at a special time of year. This has now become an annual event and long may it continue.  

“The Air Force plot at Stonefall Cemetery is incredible and resembles the sites we care for overseas. At the end of the Second World War local people were encouraged to adopt the war graves of the Canadian servicemen and lay wreaths on behalf of their families at Christmas.”  

Those wishing to attend the service are advised to dress warmly, wear appropriate footwear, 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. 

Saint Michael’s Hospice is set to hold its annual remembrance service in Harrogate tomorrow.

The hospice, which is based at Hornbeam Park, will hold the event on Saturday (December 11) at Crimple House.

Held every year, the service will feature music, comforting readings and quiet time for reflection alongside the heart-warming moment where the community’s dedicated lights are illuminated together.

Portia Crewe, Knaresborough, has attended the hospice’s Light Up a Life service annually since her father Bill’s passing in 2015.

Bill was cared for by the hospice in the last three weeks of his life.

Bill Crewe and his daughter Portia

Ms Crewe said:

“Since attending the first time, several friends and family now attend, and it has become a staple within our family’s calendar. It was so poignant that we haven’t missed a service since.”

The Light Up Life event at St Michael’s Hospice is now an established Christmas tradition for the Crewe family.

The service will start at the hospice on Saturday from 4pm.

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After making a dedication, people will receive a personalised dedication card in the post with a star to place on the tree and help memories of loved ones shine on through the festive season.

For more information, visit the Saint Michael’s Hospice website here.

Soldiers from Ripon were involved in an art installation yesterday that provides an echo of the city’s military past going back 107 years.

Members of 21 Engineer Regiment helped with ground preparation before three metal silhouettes, depicting soldiers of World War I, were put in place at Hell Wath.

The works, created by artists Dan Metcalfe and Jeanne Mundy, in collaboration with Ripon Cathedral’s visual media artist and photographer Joe Priestley, replicate pieces from previous installations produced by the trio for the project ‘Fields of Mud, Seeds of Hope’ 

Members of the 21 Engineer Regiment did the spade work

Figures from that project can be seen near the cathedral and around the city as part of the Wilfred Owen memorial walk, created in honour the famous war poet who was based briefly at Ripon Army Camp from March 1918 and died in action in northern France just seven days before peace was declared.

Mr Metcalfe told the Stray Ferret:

“During World War I, this area was the southern half of a huge camp that at any time was providing temporary accommodation for upwards of 30,000 troops.

“When you consider that the population of the city was around 8,000 before the camp arrived, it makes you realise how dominant it was and the impact it would have had.

“I hope that these works serve as a permanent reminder for generations to come of the part that Ripon played in the war and those who never returned.”

The logistics of the installation have been led by Ripon Community Poppy Project, which is also involved in producing the annual remembrance displays in the city centre.

Councillor Stuart Martin, who was one of the founders of the project, said:

“This has happened thanks to a massive collaborative effort, with support from Econ Engineering, Ripon Farm Services, Harrogate Borough Council, the Royal Engineers and Tarmac, which owns the land.

“Thanks to their assistance, combined with donations of materials, time and labour, they have enabled the creation of this stunning installation that underlines the historical significance of Ripon’s military roots, which go back many years.”

The photograph shows artist Dan Metcalfe (front, left) with Councillor Stuart Martin, of Ripon Community Poppy Project, and soldiers from the 21 Engineer Regiment.

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