Pembridge Remembrance Day

The annual Remembrance Service and Parade in Pembridge attracted nationwide attention this year. This was due to the remarkable record set by bugler Niall Roberts. Niall was making his 50th consecutive attendance as bugler at the ceremony which the Royal British Legion (RBL)  believe may be a record. 

In the days before the service, both the BBC and GB News came to Pembridge to find out more about Niall and why the Pembridge Remembrance Service is so Important to him and others in the village. 

RBL Chairman, Graham Hudson talks to GB News reporter Jack Carson

Niall, a former pupil of Pembridge school, began as bugler at the War Memorial aged 12 and has returned to Pembridge every year since from his home in Surrey.

The Royal British Legion presented Niall with a  certificate which was awarded by the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire James Hervey- Bathurst CBE, DL. 

Wreaths were laid at the War Memorial on behalf of The Lord Lieutenant,  Pembridge Parish Council, the Royal British Legion, Royal Marines, West Mercia Police, and Pride in Pembridge who help to maintain the memorial garden. 

The Service, led by Rev Anna Branston, was well attended with over  60 Pembridge residents joining  the RBL Parade to St Mary’s Church.  Parish Council Chairman, Garfield Evans, read out the names of the 40 Pembridge men who gave their lives in armed conflicts. Members of the RBL had decorated the church with an impressive poppy waterfall and read the lessons. 

Afterwards, at the New Inn, the Lord Lieutenant met Niall and his family who had  travelled back to Pembridge for this special occasion. 

On Armistice Day, 11th November, pupils of Pembridge school held their remembrance service attended by parents, guardians and members of the RBL. The children performed a moving tribute to the children of Dachau concentration camp, many of whom perished in World War II. 

Kay Ingram