Durham City Remembrance Day

Preparations for Durham’s annual Remembrance Parade are well underway, with hundreds of serving members of the Armed Forces expected to arrive from all parts of the UK for this great event.

The parade is once again organised by the City of Durham Parish Council and will be led by the Band and Bugles of Durham Army Cadet Force which will lead a strong detachment from our county Regiment the Rifles proud successors to the Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry.

This parade will be led by the Rifles proud successor to the Light Infantry and
Durham Light Infantry, the biggest infantry regiment in the British Army having five
regular and three reserve battalions. The regiment was formed in 2007 by the
amalgamation of the Royal Green Jackets, the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, and the Light Infantry.
The history of the Rifles can be traced through 13 regimental lineages, enhanced by an incredible 913 battle honours and the award of 117 Victoria Crosses, including
eleven to members of the Durham Light Infantry. The Rifles will march through
Durham city centre at an exhilarating 140 paces per minute led by the nationally
renowned Band and Bugles of Durham Army Cadet Force.

The Riflemen on parade will proudly wear many of the traditions of early regiments,
such as the Inkerman whistle and chain awarded to the Durham Light Infantry, the
ribbon of the French Croix de Guerre of the Devon and Dorsets, and the back cap
badge of the Sphinx won by the Gloucester regiment – the ‘Glorious Gloster’. As a Rifle regiment they carry no Colours, and have their Battle Honours shown on their belt buckle of their uniform, and orders are given by Bugle calls.

The parade will march through the Market Place at approximately 11:20am on Sunday 10th November and the Salute will be taken by Mrs Sue Snowdon His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for County Durham.

In addition to the Remembrance Sunday activities, Durham City will gather in the Market Place on Monday 11th November – Armistice Day – at 11:00am, where wreaths will be placed at the Durham Light Infantry Memorial statue.

Armed Forces Champion for the City of Durham, Coun. Elizabeth Scott said: “Durham has an incredible history of armed forces service and this Remembrance Day, the Parish Council is exceptionally keen to play its part in ensuring that we do everything we can to commemorate the sacrifices made by that brave generation. We are delighted to once again take on the civic duty of hosting this important event this year and I hope that all of County Durham can come together and pay our respects at this event.”

The people of Durham are invited to witness the Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday parade and cheer on His Majesty’s forces past, present and future.

During the event, the usual road closures will be in place across the city between 09:00am and 13:00pm to all vehicular traffic including pedal and motorcycles, but excluding access for emergency service vehicles whilst the event is in progress. The Parish Council would be grateful if you could plan around these closures.

The temporary closures will affect Owengate, North Bailey (from its junction with Hatfield College), Saddler Street, Elvet Bridge, Silver Street/Framwellgate bridge, Market Place and Claypath (between Prince Bishops mini-roundabout and the junction to Blue Coat Court and including the one-way eastbound slip from the A690 to Claypath).

The Parish Council is delighted to be working with partners to host this important event in the city’s calendar and has made every effort to ensure that this event can take place as safely as possible and with as little disruption to trade as possible.

We hope that you will join us in paying tribute to those we seek to honour at this event.