News Maidstone’s Remembrance Sunday Parade and Service 14 November 2021
The annual Remembrance Sunday commemorations in Maidstone will take place on Sunday 14 November.
As in previous years the day will be marked by a parade and a service of remembrance, including the two-minute silence at 11.00 at the Memorial in The Broadway, followed by the laying of wreaths.
During the event Maidstone’s Mayor, Cllr Fay Gooch, will be joined by Lt Col Mark Hendry MBE RE, Commanding Officer of 36 Engineer Regiment and the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers, to take the salute from the parade.
For those who wish to attend the service, Order of Service sheets will be available in Jubilee Square on the Sunday morning.
Due to Covid restrictions, the 2020 Remberance Sunday commemorations were markedly different with only a limited number of people attending a socially distanced service held in Brenchley Gardens. However, the parade and service this year will be well attended by military and civilian contingents and members of the public. In order to ensure the safety and security of participants and spectators it is necessary to close roads along the route of the parade and around the memorial.
Details of the day are as follows:
10:30 The parade will step off from the junction of Week Street and the High Street into Lower High Street and across the bridge system and march to the War Memorial in the Broadway (opposite Maidstone West Railway Station)
10:50 The Service of Remembrance will commence at the Memorial and will be followed by the laying of wreaths
11:15 The dignitaries’ party, followed by the parade, will process back into the High Street where the Mayor and Commanding Officer take the salute from the parade
11:25 The parade turns into Week Street and makes its way to its point of dispersal
Road closures will be put in place between 09.45am and 12.30pm, using rolling closures where possible, although roads will be reopened once the procession has passed.
Diversions will be in place and roads will be reopened as soon as possible but roads may be closed as deemed necessary between these times. The area around the Memorial, the Broadway, London Road, Rocky Hill, Tonbridge Road and St Peter’s Street will be the most affected and are likely to remain shut between at least 10.30 and 11.30.
MBC would like to apologise for any inconvenience the road closures, parade and service may cause but trust that people will understand the importance of commemorating Armistice Day and remembering the men and women who have been killed or wounded in conflict.
The Council thanks all in advance for their patience on Remembrance Sunday.