WELLS City Council, St Cuthbert (Out) Parish Council and the Royal British Legion are inviting all local residents to the Cathedral Green on Thursday, May 8, to be together to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe.
With events heralded by the Town Crier, Len Sweales, and accompanied by Wells City Band, residents will be able to gather on the Green from 8.45pm and participate in the national beacon-lighting commemoration.
The ceremony beings at 9.15pm with a specially composed proclamation from the Town Crier – an Oyez, Oyez, Oyez that will remind everyone present of the sacrifices made 80 years ago. The Chair of St Cuthbert (Out) Parish Council, Jacqui Zorab, will then read the official Tribute, being spoken across the country, followed by Al McBride, Chair of the Wells Branch, Royal British Legion, reciting the Exhortation. This will be followed by the Last Post, and then the two-minute silence; Reveille will be bugled, and the Kohima Epitaph will poignantly end the readings.
In front of the Cathedral’s West Front, a beacon will be lit by the Mayor of Wells, Jasmine Browne, and the city, the parish and the nation will pause to remember the end of the Second World War in Europe, the approaching peace in Japan and the continuing hope for peace around the world.
• On May 5, there will be a living history archive display in The Swan Hotel, which is supporting the Royal British Legion in bringing the events of 1945 to life.