AS a cloud continues to hang over Barry’s Remembrance preparations, a welcome announcement has come from a town institution of history who detail what they plan to do on Remembrance Sunday.
Barry War Museum are marking Remembrance by commemorating the armed services, merchant seamen, railway personnel, and victims of the Home Front at its Barry Island Station home between 11am to 3pm on Sunday November 12.
The commemoration comes at the same time Barry Town Council hold a service at the cenotaph for the fallen.
Remembrance commemorations in Barry have sat under a cloud this year after the town council announced they would not hold a parade due to health safety concerns.
Royal British Legion change of policy means councils take more responsibility in organising civic events and the town council said they would not meet health and safety conditions under the Health and Safety At Work Act, this year.
According to research by Barry War Museum the town suffered greatly in both world wars.
With a town population in 1914 of under 40,000, some 1152 Barrians lost their lives during World War I.
In World War II Barry suffered 679 casualties, of these, 15 were civilians, 11 were killed in air raids - although not all in Barry, one died at home, one in Barry Accident Hospital, one in a mining accident as a Bevin Boy, and one at sea as a passenger.
Also being remembered are the armed service personnel from Barry who lost their lives in the Falklands and Afghanistan conflicts.
The museum is currently in discussions with Transport for Wales, the new owners of the Barry Island Station site, discussing plans for its future.
The RBL will put on a small parade with delegates asked to muster in the car park of the Memo Arts Centre at 10.15am on Sunday and the council say they intend to hold a full parade next year.
Both Barry at War chair and the museum’s patron say it is crucial to remember the past and learn from it.
Glenn Booker, chair of the Barry at War Group said: “We must learn from history, and never forget the important part that the citizens of Barry played in protecting life and liberty, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice in armed conflicts.”
The Museum’s patron John Buxton said: “In these worrying times, against the background of the wars currently afflicting our world, the Barry War Museum helps us reflect on the lessons that must be learned from past conflicts.”
Got a story in Barry? Email harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk.
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