Published Wednesday 11 November 2020 at 9:04
Today, the borough’s civic leaders will join the rest of the nation in commemorating Remembrance Day.
Blackburn with Darwen Council Leader Cllr Mohammed Khan CBE, Mayor Cllr Iftakhar Hussain and Chief Executive Denise Park will mark the poignant two minute silence from a safe social distance outside the Town Hall.
The silence is held annually on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year and commemorates those who have sacrificed their lives during conflict.
Council leaders will fall silent on the steps of Blackburn town hall, which will be lit up with powerful images of the borough’s fallen when dusk falls, to mark Remembrance Day.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Mayor Iftakhar Hussain, said:
This year we cannot parade through the streets, we can’t pray inside places of worship and we can’t gather to lay wreaths.
But we can stand together virtually and from our own doorsteps to pay remember those who gave their lives for their country.
So many people in our borough have come up with new and creative ways to mark remembrance this year and I would like to say thank you to everyone for making sure we will remember them.
The Council has also created this video working with servicemen past and present from The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the Cathedral’s Dean and both the Blackburn and Darwen branches of the Royal British Legion to create its own act of remembrance, with several generations joining together to commemorate our fallen heroes. Talented bugle player Abbie Naylor is performing the background track, with her rendition of the poignant Last Post.
The traditional Remembrance Day procession and wreath laying ceremony had to be cancelled because of social distancing restrictions to help fight the spread of Covid-19, replaced by alternative acts of Remembrance.
Wreaths have been laid at both Corporation Park and Bold Venture Park in Darwen.
Virtual Remembrance services are being streamed online by Blackburn Cathedral and St Peter’s Church, Darwen.
Other commemorative acts include an array of printed poppies placed on key routes throughout Blackburn with Darwen.
A stunning light shows in Blackburn town centre with Remembrance Day commemoration images is being beamed onto the front of the town hall. It will be shown every evening from dusk until late until November 11.
The short projection shows pictures of Blackburn soldiers with a soundtrack and poetry recital to honour the fallen and those who continue to serve.
And Darwen’s Royal British Legion shared a message calling for residents to help support this year’s poppy appeal. You can read the story here.
You can donate to the British Legion here.
