80th Anniversary of VE Day
On Thursday, 8th May 2025, we marked the historic 80th Anniversary of VE Day. At 12 noon, a two minutes’ silence was held in school, with staff and pupils showing their respects. Mr Church, accompanied by Summer Duggan, Liam English, Henry Mason and Seth Wilcock, walked to the war memorial on Garstang Road to join Pat Hastings (Chair of Parish Council), Linda Oldcorn (Parish Councillor) and Steve Rostron (Lengthsman of Broughton), where the last post was played and the two minutes silence was observed. It was a moment to reflect and remember the bravery, sacrifice and service of all those who lived through and served during the Second World war.
The memorial on Garstang Road, and the one at Fernyhalgh, represent 27 families from Broughton. Across both memorials there are five men who died in POW camps in the Far East … men who were captured at the fall of Singapore. There were 15 sailors and airmen who were lost at sea and in the air, in most cases their bodies were never recovered. They were sons, daughters, husbands and fathers. They were farmers, clerks, mechanics, newspaper managers (Toulin: Brooklands) and scholars. The coppice behind the bench of contemplation was donated by the Dickson’s (Broughton Park); one of their sons died in the war.