Wolverhampton will come together to mark Remembrance Sunday with a service at the Cenotaph in St Peter's Square next month.

The City's annual Observance of Remembrance will be held on Sunday 12 November, 2017, beginning with a parade led by the Band of the West Midlands Fire Service and comprising detachments of the military past and present, other services and community groups.

The Parade, which features detachments from RAF Cosford, 210 BTY, 103 Regiment Royal Artillery, 1046 and 1047 Cadets, Sea Cadets, 4th Battalion The Mercian Regiment, British Korean Veterans Association, the Burma Star Association and the Fellowship of the Services among others, will leave from Wulfruna Street at 10.30am.

It will turn right into Princes Square and right again into Lichfield Street. Proceeding into Queen Square, it will turn right into Exchange Street and go across Cheapside into St Peter's Square.

A Drumhead Service will take place at the Cenotaph at 11am, followed by a second service inside St Peter's Collegiate Church.

This year's ceremony is almost exactly 100 years since the end of the Battle of Passchendaele, the Third Battle of Ypres, which became infamous not only for the scale of casualties - 325,000 Allied and 260,000 German soldiers in just over three months - but also the mud. A poem about the battle will be read during the church service.

Wulfruna Street will be closed from 8.30am until approximately 11am for the parade to take place, and drivers are advised there will temporary delays around the parade route between 10.30am and approximately 10.50am.

Mayor of Wolverhampton Councillor Elias Mattu said: "The annual Observance of Remembrance is an opportunity for the people of Wolverhampton to pay tribute to the men and women of our Armed Forces, past, present and future.

"This year's ceremony will be particularly poignant, as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele which claimed so many lives.

"Everyone is invited to watch the parade and attend the drumhead service to pay tribute to the fallen servicemen and servicewomen of all conflicts."

People can also attend the service at St Peter's Collegiate Church, however please note that seating is limited.

The City of Wolverhampton will commemorate the Dutch soldiers stationed at Wrottesley Park during the Second World War at the Royal British Legion City of Wolverhampton Central Branch's annual Dutch War Graves Service of Remembrance, taking place at Jeffcock Road Cemetery on Saturday 11 November, 2017. The service begins at 10am and will be preceded by a short parade which will form up at 9.40am.

For more information about the Observance of Remembrance, please contact the Mayor's Office on 01902 554090 or email themayor@wolverhampton.gov.uk.

  • released: Tuesday 25 October, 2017