PHOTOS: Sheffield shows support for servicemen and women on Remembrance Sunday

Hundreds of Sheffield people showed their support for the Armed Forces on Remembrance Day and paid tribute to those who died serving their country.
Remembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean AtkinsRemembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean Atkins
Remembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean Atkins

Barker's Pool was packed for the service this morning, during which members of the Army, Navy and RAF, along with veterans and cadets, marched before the crowds to great applause.

Standards were lowered and the Union flag on the war memorial was lowered before a bugler played the Last Post, marking the start of a two minute silence.

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Sheffield's Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Lord Mayor, Master Cutler and representatives of the services and ex-services, as well as members of the public, laid wreaths on the war memorial.

Among those at the service was 63-year-old Mick Fewkes, from Brinsworth. He wore a Royal British Legion shirt to show his support.

"I'm here to remember what a lot of these guys and women did before us, to give us what we have got today," he said.

"It's huge. We must keep the respect to these people. We have all got someone who we have perhaps lost in conflicts, and we must keep remembering them. Don't forget what they had to go through to give us what we have."

Remembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean AtkinsRemembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean Atkins
Remembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean Atkins
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This year marks 100 years since the Battle of the Somme, making Remembrance Day particularly poignant for Mick. His family member William Herrick fought and died in the battle aged just 17.

"I go there at least once a year to the battlefields," he said.

"He had probably never even had a beer or a girlfriend but off he went to fight for his country and never came back."

Captain Rob Crothers, of 212 (Yorkshire) Field Hospital, read the exhortation during the service. Afterwards, he said: "Today is very important, because what we are doing is taking time to remember those people in our services who have given their lives to preserve the freedoms and values we enjoy as a united kingdom.

Remembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean AtkinsRemembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean Atkins
Remembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean Atkins
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"We appreciate the hardship that's going on. We are in a time of austerity, but we have a great number of freedoms and privileges, compared to other parts of the world.

"Our servicemen play a big part in allowing those freedoms to be preserved."

There was plenty of applause for the men and women on parade, and Cpt Crothers said it meant a lot to those taking part in the service.

"It grows in poignancy," he said. "For people who have just joined, it's a sense of pride. If they have relatives who have been lost, then there will be a bit more sensitivity.

Remembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean AtkinsRemembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean Atkins
Remembrance Sunday service at Barker's Pool, Sheffield, November 2016. Photo: Dean Atkins
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"But as they progress and see comrades lost through operations, that will grow in poignancy."

Other services were held across the city and South Yorkshire.

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