12 November 2017

WREATH FOR THE HOUSE OF LORDS

When the local Councillor for Cleckheaton Kath Pinnock was elevated to the House of Lords as Baroness Pinnock of Cleckheaton the branch Chairman Eddie Morton asked her if she was going to lay a wreath on Remembrance Sunday on behalf of the House of Lords.

As Councillor, Kath Pinnock has never missed a Remembrance Day parade and always laid a wreath on behalf of Kirklees Council, but now a Baroness it was only logical that she should lay a wreath representing the House of Lords. She readily agreed to this suggestion.

The Chairman, who is also the Poppy Appeal Organiser, looked on the list of wreath badges for the House of Lords emblem, which is a red portcullis, to place the order, however there was nothing listed for the House of Lords.

A phone call to Aylesford highlighted the fact that no badge had ever been produced for the House of Lords and Aylesford could not reproduce one without the authority in writing of the Speaker.

The Chairman put the ball back into Baroness Pinnock court and asked her to get the appropriate permission to produce the wreath. This would seem like an easy task, but it took Baroness Pinnock a lot of time and work going through the appropriate channels to get permission to reproduce the Lords portcullis badge, which she eventually did, however it did come extremely close to the deadline for delivery before it was produced.

This was the first ever wreath produced for the House of Lords bearing their emblem and the Spenborough branch took delivery of it on behalf of Baroness Pinnock.

However, not wanting to be left out, the speaker of the House of Lords Lord Fowler, knowing that a    House of Lords wreath was now available also took delivery of a wreath, (After Spenborough had done the work) and for the first time ever the Speaker of the House of Lords laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Remembrance Sunday.

It doesn’t end there, when John Bercow the Speaker of the House of Commons heard that the Speaker of the House of Lords was laying a wreath he also wanted to be at the Cenotaph and lay a wreath, which he duly did, another first.

I’ve no doubt the attendance of the two speakers at the Cenotaph will become tradition and all because of the work put in by the Spenborough branch and Baroness Pinnock.

Branch Chairman Eddie Morton with Baroness Pinnock.