Spurtle attended two services of remembrance today in Broughton.
The first was held this morning at Broughton St Mary’s Parish Church on Bellevue Crescent. As well as parishioners and invited guests, it involved representatives of the military, Legion Scotland, Scouts and school pupils at primary and secondary levels. Music was provided by the church choir and local wind ensemble No Strings Attached.
Readings from work by Wilfred Owen, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Olive Dent and Sarojini Naidu complemented the religious elements of the service, and the congregation sang a familiar hymn with the first verse in German to symbolise the spirit of reconciliation which has gradually emerged between former adversaries in two world wars.
This afternoon, a second service was held at the entrance to the community garden in Redbraes. Mostly it honoured with gratitude the service and sacrifice of those who fought in the wars, but it also recalled the 600-year-old relationship of amity and peaceful cooperation between Scotland and Poland.
PC Simon Daley, Mark Lazarowicz MP, Councillor Deidre Brock, Leith Central Community Councillor Julian Siann and author Aileen Orr spoke, before prayers in Polish. Also attending were the new Polish consul, Councillor Nick Gardner, and representatives of the Polish Ex-Combatants Association, the Scottish Polish Cultural Association and the Woycek Memorial Trust.
