Croydon remembers... (From Croydon Guardian)
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Croydon remembers the fallen heroes
3:21pm Monday 15th November 2010 in News By Kirsty Whalley
More than 1,000 people gathered to honour Croydon’s war heroes at a civic service of remembrance at Fairfield Halls on Sunday.
The vicar of Croydon Reverend Canon Colin Boswell conducted a moving service which was followed by a parade to the cenotaph in Katharine street where servicemen and residents braved the rain to honour the dead by laying down poppy wreaths.
The British Legion, police and scouts as well as various regiments all stepped forward to lay a wreath beneath the cenotaph.
Among those honoured were the hundreds who laid down their lives during the first and second World Wars.
The borough also remembered the sacrifices of its more recent heroes, among them Private Jonathan Monk who was killed by a home made bomb while he was on foot patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on June 9.
Rifleman Peter Aldridge, 19, from the fourth battalion the Rifles died in January in a blast while on foot patrol in the deadly town of Sangin in Helmand Province.
And Rifleman Danny Simpson, a 20-year-old father-of-one from the 2 Rifles died after an attack by Taliban insurgents while on foot patrol near the town of Sangin in the Helmand province In July last year.
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He was being carried to safety after being wounded in a blast from an improvised explosive device when a second explosion killed him and his rescuer, Rifleman Joseph Murphy.
Mayor of Croydon Councillor Avril Slipper said: "As always at this time of year, the thoughts of all of us will be centred on those brave men and women who have served their country and made the ultimate sacrifice, both in the past and the present.
"Words can’t really convey the gratitude we have for what they’ve done and continue to do, and I know that Croydon will make a special effort to remember them at the memorial events on Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday."
Click here for a Remembrance Sunday picture gallery
Pictures by Michael Smith @ www.pictureinme.com
