This year's Remembrance season in Rochdale has been marked by profound reflection and community pride, with residents of all ages coming together to honour those who served their country.
Community Comes Together for Remembrance Services
Across Rochdale, Wardle and Littleborough, veterans, cadets and serving Armed Forces members led moving ceremonies at local cenotaphs. The services were accompanied by superb local brass bands, creating poignant moments of reflection for the community.
One particularly significant moment saw Councillor Ashley Dearnley attending his final Wardle ceremony after more than forty years of outstanding community service.
Honouring Local Heroes
Earlier in the week, a cross was placed in Parliament's Garden of Remembrance for Littleborough's Les Brown, one of the last surviving D-Day heroes who passed away earlier this year aged 99.
Les Brown had described storming the beaches at just 17 years old, recalling that although "hell was going on around" him, he "wasn't frightened" because he "had a job to do." He spoke of seeing friends fall to enemy fire while having to carry on with his mission.
Another cross was placed for Middleton's Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington, who died in a tragic accident in Iraq in 2017. Scott was just 22 and a father of one, reminding us that the cost of service continues to be felt today.
New Support for Veterans
The government has launched the first national Veterans Strategy in seven years, alongside the biggest investment in veterans' housing for half a century.
The plan includes £27 million for VALOUR, a new programme providing veterans with easier access to care, housing, employment and wellbeing support. An additional £13.8 million over three years will tackle homelessness among veterans.
Across the North West there are more than 228,000 veterans, with over 5,000 living in Rochdale Borough - approximately 3,000 within the constituency itself.
Local bids will be supported to bring one of the new veterans' support centres to Rochdale, ensuring those who've served can access joined-up help close to home.
Local Support Networks
Rochdale's spirit of service lives on through its brilliant veterans' community. Organisations like Get Together After Serving (GTAS) CIC, the Rochdale Veterans Breakfast Club and the Armed Forces Hub at Number One Riverside form the backbone of local support networks.
These groups provide friendship, compassion and commitment while helping ex-service personnel transition back into civilian life.
The annual remembrance ceremony at Rochdale AFC remains one of the most moving events in the local calendar, bringing together supporters, players and families to remember those from the club and town who made the ultimate sacrifice.
As the community reflects during this Remembrance season, the focus extends beyond honouring the past to supporting living veterans and their families, ensuring they remain valued and never forgotten.
