'They shall not grow old': York falls silent for Remembrance Sunday

The Last Post had played; and the words of Robert Binyon's For the Fallen had rung out: "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn."

Then the serried ranks of soldiers and other servicemen and women who filled the Gardens bowed their heads in respect as the two minute's silence was observed - as it was at similar ceremonies up and down the country.

Then came the laying of wreaths - by the Lord Mayor himself; by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Jo Ropner; and by serving and retired service personnel of all ranks.

The ceremony concluded with a blessing from the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell. He reminded those present that Christ had never said 'Blessed are the peace lovers'.

"He said 'Blessed are the peace makers'," the Archbishop said. "We have a responsibility, each of us, to make peace, to build communities, to hold fast to notions of truth and goodness."

Earlier, hundreds of people crowded the streets of York as the annual Remembrance Sunday parade - which included serving members of 2 Signal Regiment; the 4th Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment; The Queen’s Own Yeomanry; and the 4th Regiment Royal Artiller, as well as cadets, scouts, police officers and the civic party - wound its way through the city.

York's Remembrance Sunday parade crosses Lendal Bridge (Image: Stephen Lewis)

The onlookers cheered as the parade, banners held proudly aloft, marched up Coney Street and past the Mansion House.

It headed down Lendal, past Museum Gardens, and across Lendal Bridge, before turning into Museum Gardens, where a crowd of hundreds more was waiting for it to arrive.

Those waving and cheering as the parade passed included veterans, men and women young and old, and children.

Among them was Royal Navy veteran Paul Smith, who between 1965 and 1970 saw service as a stoker on ships including an anti-submarine frigate, HMS Troubridge.

Being York born and bred, the city's annual Remembrance Sunday parade has been a fixture in his diary ever since he left the navy, he said. "I haven't missed since since 1975!"

Paul Smith (Image: Stephen Lewis)

The Lord Mayor, Cllr David Carr, said the annual parade was a hugely important date in the York calendar.

"It offers us an opportunity to show our appreciation for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all," he said. "It also allows us all to share our hopes for a peaceful future. It is an honour to be able to mark the occasion.”

Today's parade and wreath-laying was all the more poignant because of the death, on Remembrance Day itself, of York Normandy veteran Sid Metcalfe.

Sid, a mechanic/ driver with a recomnnaisance unit who took part in the Normandy Landings on Sword Beach on D-Day plus 10, passed away on Friday at the age of 99, just hours before he had been due to attend a Remembrance Day service at St Lawrence's Church.

He was in the minds of many today.

Sid Metcalfe (Image: Other)