Remembrance parade saved after fundraiser

Elizabeth Lang (left) and Eleanor Lang (right) said they knew the community valued the parade, otherwise they would not have helped fund it this year

A Remembrance parade has been saved after a fundraising appeal hit its target in less than 24 hours.

Organiser Eleanor Lang is “completely shocked” at the public's generosity to pay for the procession to go ahead in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire.

The 40-year tradition was in danger of being cancelled after funding was cut.

But residents and local businesses raised more £2,500 to pay for the parade, which will now go ahead on 10 November at 10:30 GMT.

Previously, the parade was funded through councillor ward grants, but these were cut after Nottingham City Council declared itself ‘effectively bankrupt’.

Now it is organised in collaboration with ex-servicemen at the Oakleigh Lodge Social Club in Highbury Road.

The parade last year used money from local councillor ward grants

The money raised will be used to pay for road closures, insurance and a small pipe band.

The parade will feature ex-servicemen, cadets, the Royal British Legion, and numerous uniformed groups, such as Scouts and Brownies.

Ms Lang’s daughter, Elizabeth Lang, will be marching in the parade as a Guides leader.

The 22-year-old said it would be a proud moment for the young Guides alongside her as they honour the fallen.

The parade provides an opportunity for those young and old to come together in the community, said Ms Lang.

Meanwhile, Ray Fielding, chairman of the Nottinghamshire Royal British Legion, said that young people understood Remembrance Day better than older generations might realise.

Ms Lang said there had been a lot of upset when the parade could not go ahead in a previous year

“There are so many examples of how the baton of Remembrance is handed down through the generations," he said.

“We must remember too there have been so many conflicts since World War Two, today's veterans are young men and women, mortally wounded, or with life-changing injuries.”

Road closures will be in place for the parade on 10 November, with Highbury Road shut between 10:15 and 12:30.

This will extend from Northcote Road, next to the Oakleigh Lodge Social Club, up towards Church Lane, next to St Mary's Church.

It will allow the parade to march along the route, arriving at St Mary’s Church at about 10:50, where a Remembrance service will be held.