LARGE crowds gathered in Ledbury Town Centre for Remembrance Sunday, on a sunny but chilly November morning.

As Ledbury Community Brass band played under Ledbury's iconic building, the Market House, people stood shoulder to shoulder and in deep rows, on either ride of the High Street, as the Union flags by the Alms Houses fluttered in the gentle breeze.

It was one of the largest turn-outs in recent years and a community occasion, with many taking part in the parade and the laying of wreaths, from the Ledbury Branch of the Royal British Legion to Ledbury Town Council and Herefordshire Council, and from emergency services representatives to guides and scouts and youngsters from local schools, including Ledbury Primary and the John Masefield High School.

Despite a nip in the air, it was probably, even, a bigger turn-out than the 2017 Remembrance Sunday event, possibly a record in recent years, when 1000 service sheets were printed and all were handed out.

Ledbury, in fact, is known for its large crowds on Remembrance Sunday, and fact noted by Squadron Leader Don Rule (retired), President of the Ledbury Branch of the Royal British Legion, who told the Reporter: "I am very proud of the numbers of people who turn up for Remembrance Sunday in Ledbury. It's the best attended I've seen, and I do get around."

Rotarian Jan Long had special praise for the youngsters "who were so patient and were a credit to their families".

She added: "Praise must go too too for our wonderful Ledbury Community Brass Band."

On Monday, November 11, Armistice Day, a simple Act of Remembrance took place at the Town’s War Memorial. Prior to that, a plaque was unveiled by Ledbury's Mayor Cllr Phillip Howells on the site where Ledbury Drill Hall stood, in New Street.