A small garden of remembrance has appeared among the stalls of Swansea Market. With it, poppy season has started in Swansea.
The Royal British Legion launched its Poppy Appeal there on Friday, with veterans in medals and berets, a piper in full Highland dress and the Lord Mayor in her robes.
It’s the second year in a row the appeal has been launched at the market. Heather, red cyclamen and ivy fill a bed beneath a poppy wreath, with wooden crosses bearing service badges pressed into the soil.
The Lord Mayor, Cllr Penny Matthews, bent down to place one of them during the ceremony.
Poppies at the market, Y Storfa, the Guildhall and libraries
Poppies will be on sale at the market itself, at Y Storfa, at the Guildhall and in a number of libraries over the coming weeks, Swansea Council says.
The money raised supports serving and former members of the armed forces and their families.
Cllr Matthews urged everyone who can to give to the appeal, “wear their poppy with pride and take part in remembrance events in their local communities”.
She called Remembrance “an important time for our city”, and a chance “to reflect on the sacrifices made by generations of service personnel”.
First the Cross of Peace, then a garden outside Morgan’s Hotel
The Legion’s next stop is Dan Y Graig Cemetery, where its Cross of Peace ceremony takes place on Friday 23 October at 10.30am.
On Sunday 1 November at 10.45am, it opens its Garden of Remembrance on the green outside Morgan’s Hotel.
The night before Remembrance Sunday, the Legion’s free Festival of Remembrance comes to the Brangwyn Hall on Saturday 7 November at 6pm.
Remembrance Sunday: the Cenotaph at 10.30am and a parade to the Minster
On Sunday 8 November, the commemoration service at the Cenotaph begins at 10.30am with the Lord Lieutenant attending. Council leader Cllr Rob Stewart and other councillors will be at services in their own communities.
Cllr Stewart said: “So many local people have made the ultimate sacrifice over the years, giving their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms many of us sometimes take for granted.”
He added that the generation “which gave us everything and is gradually passing on deserves our respect and remembrance”.
That afternoon, the Remembrance Parade sets off from the Builder’s Arms on Lower Oxford Street at 1.30pm, heading for Swansea Minster and a Service of Remembrance at 2.30pm.
Armistice Day: Paxton Street, Technium Square and the two minute silence
Three days later, on Wednesday 11 November, Swansea Remembers gathers in Paxton Street at 10.30am.
At 10.45am the Merchant Navy Association holds its annual service at Technium Square, as Armistice Day commemorations begin at the Cenotaph ahead of the National Two Minute Silence.
There’s also a Poppies to Paddington event at Swansea railway station, with the time still to be confirmed. The Guildhall will be lit red for the day.
The council’s Armed Forces Champion, Cllr Wendy Lewis, said Swansea’s communities had “a proud heritage of service in the armed forces”.
She said the appeal gave everyone “the chance to say thank you to the Royal British Legion and to all those who have served and continue to serve”.
