The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is delighted to announce it will be hosting an ANZAC Day Ceremony at Stonefall Cemetery, Harrogate on Sunday 27 April at 1pm.
The ceremony is to honour the Second World War casualties from the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force who are buried at the site, as well as the thousands of other Australian and New Zealand service personnel buried around the world.
The ANZAC Day Ceremony is organised each year by Kate Spencer, who is the Chair of Trustees for the newly established ANZAC REMEMBRANCE CIO. She is also the representative for the sister-city relationship between Harrogate and Wellington, New Zealand. Harrogate has been twinned with the New Zealand capital of Wellington since 1953, with the New Zealand Garden that lies within Valley Gardens, a tribute to those Kiwi airmen buried at Stonefall.
Commenting on the foundation of ANZAC REMEMBRANCE, Kate said:
This year marks the first year that the service of remembrance will be under the governance of myself and a board of Trustees whose purpose is to provide a ceremony each year on the Sunday closest to ANZAC Day which is remembered across the globe on the 25th April.
Poignantly, this year marks 80 years since the declaration on the 8th of May 1945 of the end of the war in Europe.
We will honour and remember these very young men who gave their lives in the ultimate sacrifice.
With more than 1,000 Commonwealth war graves, Harrogate’s Stonefall Cemetery is one of the largest CWGC sites in the North of England. The majority of burials are airmen from bomber crews who died during the Second World War. There are 97 Royal Australian Air Force and 23 Royal New Zealand Air Force servicemen buried at the site.
Kate said:
This year I will, in my address to the public, be highlighting one of these young airmen who was the pilot of the last Lancaster bomber to be shot down by the Luftwaffe. Alfred Churchill Lockyer crashed and died on the 17th April 1945 near the town of Withernsea. He was 23 years old, was buried on the 23rd March and was the last of the 23 Kiwis, whose average age was 23, to be buried in Stonefall. He was buried between Free French aviators from RAF Elvington who had been involved in similar attacks on Germany and had crashed in bad weather upon their return. This year, we are also remembering those young French men from 346 and 347 Squadrons based in Elvington.
CWGC Public Engagement Coordinator, Elizabeth Smith, said:
The CWGC cares for 170,000 war graves from both World Wars at more than 12,500 locations in the UK. The Air Force plot at Stonefall Cemetery is unique in the North of England due to its size and resemblance to our sites overseas. The ANZAC Day service offers the public a chance to give thanks to those who travelled from the far-flung countries of the world and now rest so far from home.
The ceremony will see representation from the Royal Australian Air Force, the New Zealand Royal Air Force, the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, the Royal Air Force, the U.S. Space Force, the Charter Mayor Harrogate, the Mayor of Withernsea, the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire and other local dignitaries.
Kate said:
The ANZAC ceremony is fast becoming a major event on Harrogate’s calendar.
We are delighted to have Harrogate Band once again this year, who will be accompanied by professional Yorkshire soprano, Jo Dexter.
We look forward to welcoming you all to the ceremony and invite you to visit our website at www.anzacremembrancecio.org for further information about ANZAC REMEMBRANCE charity.
Members of the public are invited to attend the ceremony which will take place in the war graves plot adjacent to Forest Lane. They are invited to gather from 12.30pm.
The ceremony will commence sharply at 1pm with the parade of RAF Cadets. Parking is available in the cemetery car park off Forest Lane.
