Shipston installing big screen to stream Remembrance Sunday activities

Shipston' s Remembrance Sunday service is usually only seen by those who enter its church, St Edmund’s, which has a limited capacity.

To reach more people in the town this year, Shipston Town Council is hiring a big screen and will stream the service from inside the church. The screen will be temporarily installed on High Street, where the parade will march down on the day.

The screen’s installation is coinciding with the 100th anniversary of both the Royal British Legion – simply known as the British Legion when it was first founded – and the inaugural Poppy Day.

The funding for the big screen has been provided through the Welcome Back Fund, from the European Regional Development Fund money through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The programme is managed by Shakespeare's England on behalf of Stratford District Council.

Grants are given to projects that help to attract local residents and visitors alike into high streets or town centres post-Covid.

Town Mayor Cllr Ian Cooper said streaming the service was a great way of getting residents who come out to remember more involved in the event.

He said: “For a long time, the church and the Shipston branch of the Royal British Legion did not realise how many people gathered on Church Street while the service was happening.

“And some others know that the church fills up quickly, so understandably feel that there may not be room for them.

“For those that do come out, they are standing waiting for the service to end for the parade back to the High Street.

“The big screen is a great way to get people back out onto the streets and enable them to pay their respects in a more meaningful way.”

“We did not appreciate just how many people in Shipston gathered on Church Street while the service was going on, so it’s fantastic that the town has funding for a big screen so they can view the service properly.

“Shipston is a growing town, and we will need to find new ways of involving everyone who wants to take part in remembrance. The big screen is a great first step in doing that.”

And Glyn Slade, Welcome Back Event Manager from Shakespeare’s England, said: “Shipston hiring the big screen for its Remembrance Sunday service this year is exactly what the Welcome Back Fund was designed for.

“It will attract Shipston’s residents onto their High Street, and involves more of the town in such an important annual event.”

The big screen will be installed on High Street in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday on November 14.

People are invited to start together from 10am once the High Street has been closed to see the band march in playing from the bottom of Sheep Street. The parade will form up in the High Street ready for a 10.45 move off.

On arrival at the war memorial, wreaths will be laid, the names of the fallen read out by Shipston High School prefects and the two minutes silence observed. People can then go into the church, where masks will be mandatory, or return to the High Street to watch the service on the big screen, before watching the parade return and fall out.