This Remembrance Sunday, 10 November, and Remembrance Day, Monday, 11 November, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) joined the nation in honouring all those that have made the ultimate sacrifice.
As the Union Flag was flown at full-mast across our Service’s buildings, teams came together to join the nation at 11am on each day to remember all those who have lost their lives in conflicts around the world, and to observe the national two-minute silence.
On Remembrance Day, firefighters on duty paraded in full fire kit outside the front of their fire station, and those at Headquarters observed a two-minute silence, led by Paul Brooks, Head of Assets, and Armed Forces Champion.
RBFRS also commissioned enamelled poppy badges to sell and raise money for the Royal British Legion’s (RBL) Poppy Appeal. There were 600 poppies available, 300 of which featured the Service’s crest embedded into the centre of the poppy, whilst the other 300 had the poppy offset to the side of the crest.
Vehicle poppies decorated our Fire Engines during the period as a mark of respect and a number of our staff represented the Service at events across the county, including Sandhurst, Bracknell, Theale, Reading, Windsor, Earley, Wokingham, Newbury, Slough, Crowthorne and Sunningdale. Additionally, Chief Fire Officer, Wayne Bowcock, attended the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in his role as Civil Service Contingent Commander.
In the same week, the latest Armed Forces Veterans’ Hub Event took place on Friday, 8 November 2024 at Newbury Fire Station between 10am and 1pm.
The Armed Forces Veterans’ Hub events are open to all veterans. At this event, attendees were able to speak to a range of organisations and charities that support the armed forces community, including Operation Courage – the NHS service that provides specialist care for those Armed Forces veterans suffering from a mental health crisis – Royal Air Force Association, SSAFA (The Armed Forces Charity), Royal Naval Association, Army Benevolent Fund, Models for Heroes, Help For Heroes and the Royal British Legion.
Paul Brooks, Armed Forces Lead, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “It was an honour to host the event at Newbury Fire Station for our Armed Forces Veterans community in the week we also marked Armistice Day. We were delighted with the attendance on the day, which was the highest of our Veterans’ Hub events to date.”
“We were also pleased that so many organisations offering support to the Armed Forces were able to attend.”
“It was great to see so any Veterans, both familiar and new faces, and to be joined by the Mayor of Newbury, Mr Andy Moore, and our Chief Fire Officer Wayne Bowcock, and Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Mark Arkwell.”
“Our Armed Forces Veterans’ Hub events help us to support the Armed Forces Community, and I hope they add value to the lives of veterans through the network of people and sources of support available.”
