A picture from our files of a previous Remembrance parade through Kingswood
Kingswood’s Remembrance Sunday parade was cancelled a few days before the event in a row blamed by the Royal British Legion on “bureaucracy”.
The Kingswood & Hanham branch of the RBL announced on Facebook that the event was off but that wreaths could still be collected from Cecil Road car park.
The wreath-laying at the war memorial at Holy Trinity Church, followed by a service, still went ahead and some Beavers, Cubs and Scouts still marched – on the pavement – from Cecil Road to the church.
Branch chairman Neville Wooding told The Week In that “a long-standing divergence of views between the RBL and most local government authorities, including South Gloucestershire” was to blame for the service not going ahead.
He said: “The RBL take the view that this is a civic occasion, and the local authority should ‘own’ the event. South Glos takes the view that the RBL should ‘own’ it.”
A council spokesperson told us today: “We are saddened that the organisers of Kingswood Remembrance Day parade decided it couldn’t take place in its usual format this year due to an issue with public liability insurance. We are proud to support Remembrance Day services which enable our communities to come together in a moment of shared reflection.
“Our role is to administer and authorise any requests for road closures to enable associated parades to take place, and parades in other areas of South Gloucestershire went ahead as planned.”
Staple Hill & District Royal British Legion again ran their annual parade and service thanks to a crowdfunding appeal to cover costs.
