Portsmouth unites as families mark Remembrance from their doorsteps

Neighbours lined streets in a poignant display of gratitude to military heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice defending the nation from tyranny.

It came as major parades and church services were cancelled across the country in response to Covid-19 crisis.

Residents in Stamshaw Road, Stamshaw, rallied as they stood at their doorways in silence for two minutes.

Naval veteran Clive Price Nartland Sutton and retired paratrooper Andy Long were among those answering the call to arms as part of The News’s Stand Out for Heroes campaign.

Clive, 71, who served on HMS Arrow during the Falklands conflict, said: ‘It is vital we remember those who gave their lives for us. They made the ultimate sacrifice.

The scene in Stamshaw was repeated across the Portsmouth area, as people across Havant, Gosport and Fareham commemorated a socially-distanced Remembrance Sunday.

Portsmouth’s traditional parade and commemorative event in Guildhall Square was cancelled this year.

Instead, a scaled-back service was staged at the city’s Anglican Cathedral, in Old Portsmouth and beamed to people’s homes in an online broadcast.

Dean of Portsmouth, the Very Revd Dr Anthony Cane, led the service – which attended by just the city choir, three religious leaders, a military officer and The News.

He said: ‘It has been very strange not having people in front of us for Remembrance.

‘It is part of our identity as a nation to be able to remember together on this day so it’s very sad that we’re not able to gather physically as we would usually do.’

Captain Angus Essenhigh, commanding officer of aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, took part in the service alongside his 11-year-old son, Artemis who is a chorister with the Portsmouth Cathedral Choir.

He said: ‘It was a huge privilege to be invited. It’s been a weird year for everyone for a lot of different reasons and for the military not to be able to do their normal acts of Remembrance at this time of year is a strange feeling.’

The naval officer added he was bursting with pride at seeing his boy perform.

‘I had never heard him sing in the cathedral choir which is a real shame for me,’ he said. ‘I have a busy job and don’t spend much time in Portsmouth. So to actually hear him sing for the first time was very special.’

SEE ALSO: Man decorates city field with 1,000 poppies

In Gosport, mayor Zoe Huggins was joined outside the Gosport War Memorial Hospital in a prerecorded clip by Admiral Sir Jonathon Band.

She was also joined by Andy Brown, chairman of Gosport and Alverstoke Royal British Legion.

Councillor Huggins said: 'We remember the service and sacrifice of so many for their bravery has made a difference to all of our lives.'

‘We remember then and reflect on now, on behalf of the borough we unite in commemorating and together strong, lest we forget.'

In Fareham a pre-recorded video honouring all the town’s fallen was shared online by Fareham Borough Council, while the Holy Trinity Church broadcast its service over Facebook.

Similar events took place at St Faith’s Church, Havant and St James’s Church, in Emsworth.

Wreaths were laid at Havant’s War Memorial and in Emsworth’s Memorial Garden.

Small groups of veterans also gathered to lay wreaths at the Falklands Memorial, in Old Portsmouth and the Naval Memorial, in Southsea.

Wreaths had already been placed at the war memorial in Guildhall Square.

About 200 veterans, families and passers by came to a standstill near the People's Memorial cairn at the Eastern Road foreshore in Portsmouth.to observe a two-minute silence after the sounding of the Last Post.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as our new Puzzles section.