Around 2,000 military personal, veterans and their families came together on Sunday for the Remembrance Day service at Liverpool’s Anglican cathedral.
This was not the event’s usual location of St George’s Hall, due to the Lime Street development works taking place around the area.
Meanwhile, just a mile away at Liverpool Women’s Hospital a bomb exploded as the start of the two-minute national silence.
The service featured guest speaker former Lance Corporal Craig Lundberg, and a poignant poppy drop followed the moment of silence filling the sky with beautiful poppy petals.
Wayne Kitney, Merseyside branch deputy chairman of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA), said: “People want to be able to show that they care but I don’t think you always have to be there to show your support.”
SSAFA is an armed forces charity that works to support the military community both physically and emotionally.
Wayne explained why the charity is so important to the people of Merseyside: “Traditionally the north west has been one of the biggest recruiting grounds for the armed forces.
“In general it has not necessarily been one of the most affluent areas; because of this we tend to see a social support need somewhat greater than other regions.”
Wayne first started paying attention to remembrance services as a child: “Most of them included First and Second World War Veterans. It became quite an interest to see and understand what these people had gone through.”
So why does he think remembrance is still valid today? “Up until the British armed forces left Afghanistan in 2015, they had been in conflict continuously for over 100 years.
“Looking at media and television coverage, it’s put the suffering and what’s going on in front of people’s faces.”
