In advance of this year’s Remembrance Day, PCC Dr Alan Billings has shared his thoughts:

 

“In a normal year I would be joining with others to commemorate Remembrance Day at one of the many memorials across South Yorkshire. But the coronavirus has disrupted this as it has many other aspects of life.

“I have never doubted the importance of taking part in the annual act of remembrance, but this year is rather special in that it marks one hundred years since the first commemoration after the end of the First World War.

“It is significant that in this country we chose to mark the end of that war not at an Arc de Triomphe, triumphantly celebrating battles won, but at a cenotaph, sorrowfully recollecting those who had given up their lives.

“This year the commemorations will be muted, though no less meaningful or heartfelt. We call to mind the suffering of war and those who in various conflicts did their duty and bore a heavy cost.

“As Police and Crime Commissioner I meet on a daily basis people who put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe – the police. Over these days of Remembrance I think of those who also seek to keep us safe – the men and women of the armed forces – and the terrible price that some of them have paid.”