SEDBERGH BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE
Extract from Westmorland Gazette November 1964:
Impressive Dedication Ceremony.
An impressive ceremony took place during the Remembrance Service at Sedbergh Parish Church on Sunday Afternoon, when a Book of Remembrance containing the names of the fallen of two world wars from the Sedbergh district, was dedicated.
Before the service there was a procession through the town of representatives of the Police, the Rural Council, Magistrates, both sections of the Royal British Legion, with their respective Standards, St. Johns Ambulance Brigade units and the Combined Cadet Force. The procession formed near the Congregational Church and marched through main street to the church. The clergy taking part were the RVs. J.A.V. Wallace (Vicar of Sedbergh), D. Thomas (Curate), E. B. Rawcliffe (Congregational minister), and E.B. Topliss (Methodist minister), who gave the sermon. Mr. L Smith was organist; the church choir was in attendance. A large congregation filled the church to capacity.
The dedication of the book of remembrance -- the gift of the local branch of the Royal British Legion -- was followed by the reading of the names of the fallen by Mt. G. Braithwaite (President of the branch). The book was then placed in a special case with a glass top, for which a facility had been obtained. The lettering was carried out by Mr. H.W. Bracken a local ex-serviceman and the book is suitably bound in Red, with gold lettering.
At the end of the service the banners were handed from the alter to the escorts and the procession moved out to the war memorial in the church yard. There wreaths were deposited on behalf of the Royal British Legion, St. Johns Ambulance, and the cadet force. The Last Post and reveille were sounded. During the week-end the war memorial was flood-lit.
28th October 2012: The Royal British Legion Poppy Ride Motorcycle Riders visited Sedbergh to start the Poppy Campaign.
10th November: Flicks in the Fells We're delighted to be teaming up once again with the Flicks In The Fells for the screening on the 10th November, the night before Remembrance Sunday and will be showing The Dam Busters, which we thought appropriate given the unveiling this year of the memorial to the 55,573 aircrew of Bomber Command who lost their lives in World War 2.
This classic black and white film tells the true story of Operation Chastise, a top-secret
RAF bombing mission designed to strike a decisive blow against the seemingly invincible Nazi war machine at the height of its aggression.
In March 1943, a group of airmen drawn from across the ranks of the RAF were assembled and trained for an unprecedented and potentially deadly assignment. They had only seven weeks to train with exercises that imitated - but never revealed - their intended target: to fly deep into Germany at tree top level. at night-time, and destroy three dams that were essential to the Nazi steel industry. A revolutionary bouncing bomb that could skip across water had been developed by a visionary scientist, Barnes Wallis, but to be effective, the bomb had to be dropped from terrifyingly close range and at very low altitude. In specially modified Lancaster aircraft the airmen trained for a single mission, the likes of which had never been undertaken and whose potential for success was small.
There will also be a short presentation before the film on the work of the British Legion.
A licensed bar and refreshments will be available, profits from which will go to British Legion funds.
This is a rare chance to see this iconic film on the big screen, and we hope to see you there.
GP90: 5th to 9th August 2018.
The Great Pilgrimage in August 2018 was the biggest ever event in the history of The Royal British Legion and was the modern recreation of the 1928 pilgrimage. Two representatives from each branch in the country were sent for an act of Remembrance at the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium where a wreath from each branch was placed on the memorial. It included a tour of battlefield memorial sites, trenches and cemeteries. Sedbergh Branch sent a Standard Bearer (Keith Wood) and an escort (Sandra Gold-Wood).
15th May 2021 - The Centenary of the formation of the Royal British Legion took place on 15th May 2021. In London at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, a wreath was laid to mark the occasion. At the same time at 0900, Col Tony Reed Screen, President of our branch, laid a wreath at the Sedbergh town memorial. Other events took place nationally and in Sedbergh throughout the year as Covid restrictions began to ease. A commemorative message was received by all branches from Her Majesty The Queen as Patron, congratulating the Legion on its centenary. The message is now displayed in the branch committee room. In addition, the Legion published a Centenary Book, "We are the Legion".
12th May 2024 - the branch held its annual dinner at Sedbergh Golf Club.
