Ballymoney Council honours Her Majesty’s Armed Forces

Mayor Alderman Bill Kennedy was joined by his Chaplain, Rev Frances Bach, Councillors John Finlay and William Blair, representatives of the Royal British Legion and UDR Association at Ballymoney War Memorial on Saturday to Honour the Armed Forces.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Jul 2014, 10:59 BST
REMEMBER. Mayor Cllr Bill Kennedy, pictured along with Chaplain Rev Frances Bach, ex Servicemen and members of the RBL at a Wreath laying ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day on Saturday.INBM27-14 112SC.REMEMBER. Mayor Cllr Bill Kennedy, pictured along with Chaplain Rev Frances Bach, ex Servicemen and members of the RBL at a Wreath laying ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day on Saturday.INBM27-14 112SC.
REMEMBER. Mayor Cllr Bill Kennedy, pictured along with Chaplain Rev Frances Bach, ex Servicemen and members of the RBL at a Wreath laying ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day on Saturday.INBM27-14 112SC.

The Mayor laid a wreath on behalf of the Citizens of the Borough, after the Chairman of the Royal British Legion, Mr Mark McLaughlin, delivered the exhortation “They shall grow not old….” followed by two minutes silence after which the Mayor’s Chaplain offered prayer.

Speaking after Mayor said: “During armed forces day the whole nation has an opportunity to show its appreciation for the contribution made by all those who serve or have served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. This special day reflects the wider Armed Forces family of serving personnel (both regular and reserve), veterans and the cadet forces. The strapline for the day “Honouring Britain’s Armed Forces, past, present and future” is most appropriate and why we gather here.

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“As Mayor I am pleased to acknowledge and mark ‘Armed Forces Day’ in company with representatives from the Royal British Legion, the UDR Association and my Chaplain, Rev Bach.”

The specially commissioned ‘Armed Forces Flag’ flies over Council’s during Armed Forces Week.

It is interesting to note that The Exhortation “They shall grow not old…” is taken from Laurence Binyon’s poem “For The Fallen” which was first published in 1914. He wrote the poem while sitting on the cliffs at North Cornwall and a stone plaque was erected at the spot in 2001 to commemorate the fact.

The poem strikes a particular chord in this the 100th anniversary of the start of The Great War.

Related topics:Bill KennedyCouncillorsRoyal British Legion