Chatteris remembers with parade, wreath laying and a beacon for peace

Chatteris people turned out in their hundreds on Sunday for the annual Remembrance Day commemoration.

They lined the streets to watch the parade which made its way from Furrowfields through the town to the War Memorial outside the parish church.

Once at the memorial the traditional wreath laying ceremony and two minutes' silence was held. This year saw more wreaths than ever laid - a total of 45.

Organisations as diverse as the town council, to the prison service and Women's Institutes all laid a wreath in memory of the town's Fallen in both World Wars.

Later in the evening the townspeople once again came together outside the church for the lighting of the beacon, which was part of the national 'The Battle's Over, A Nation's Tribute' celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of end of World War 1.

During the beacon lighting ceremony Chatteris Town Crier Lawrence Weetman joined over 120 other town criers from around the world in making a simultaneous "Cry For Peace".

The cry, which was coordinated to take place in every location at 7.05pm. Chatteris was one of 1,000 other towns and villages across the country which lit their beacons.

The 'Last Post' was sounded on a bugle and the church bells rang out too.

The day was slightly marred by two incidents - the first was damage caused to a horse sculpture created in purple flowers by Chatteris in Bloom to remember the animals who also lost their lives in conflicts alongside military personnel and the other was the theft of a flag, which meant there was one bare post.