It was heart warming and moving to see so many people attending services at our local war memorials in Romiley and Bredbury. Representatives from the armed forces, youth groups, St John Ambulance, police, community groups and many more sang hymns accompanied by the Werneth High School band.

It was a pleasure to see how young and old were acting together. It was good to watch the way the young people carried their flags and marched with pride - and the care they took in lowering and raising those flags during the service. They were all beautifully turned out too – a real credit to them and their organisations.

For the first time in many years, the Police stopped the traffic during the two minutes silence – the effect was very dramatic, and enabled people to concentrate on the reasons for this day. All that could be heard were the birds singing and one plane. The Last Post & Reveille were played very well by a young member of the band – a hard job on an important public occasion like this.

The Rev Richard Mottershead, who led the service, highlighted the past and the present, speaking of the disappointment of those who fought in World War 1 when it became clear that their sacrifice had not been a war to end all wars after all. Richard highlighted just how many conflicts there had been in the intervening years and how people were still dying around the world.

Occasions like these are important not just to remember the past actions and sacrifices of others but to reflect on the future and what actions we could bring to bear to stop further repetitions.