Remembrance Day parade ‘at risk’ due to red tape
ARMY VETERAN FEARS SERVICE WILL BE CANCELLED OVER INSURANCE COSTS
A MILITARY veteran who spent 10 years organising the Remembrance Day parade in a Derby suburb fears it is now under threat following a rule change.
Stephen Dewis helped to organise the Mickleover Remembrance Day parade from 2008 to 2018, which was latterly attended by over 1,000 people including Cubs and Scouts, relatives of the fallen and local residents.
Mr Dewis, 56, served in the Royal Engineers from 1983 to 1991, reaching the rank of full corporal before becoming a member of the
Royal British Legion
(RBL) after leaving the Armed Forces.
He is now a member of the national St James’ branch of the RBL, having formerly been a member at Mickleover.
He says that he would apply for a Temporary Traffic Management Order (TTMO) from Derby City Council every year, allowing for a rolling roadblock to be put into place along the one-mile parade route, with Derbyshire police assisting him in putting marshals in place.
Mr Dewis was insured under the RBL’s public liability policy, and every event was completed successfully without incident and did not cost the branch any money.
But he now claims that the RBL has changed its stance and is refusing to insure any branch-run parades, instead saying that insurance for TTMOs must be paid for by local authorities or other organisations, and branches cannot take ownership of parades.
But as insurance for a march would cost five figures, Mr Dewis says it is too expensive for a branch or local authority to afford.
He said: “When I moved to Mickleover I was asked to help with the Remembrance Parade, I was told it was a little parade, but it was huge.
“It’s brilliant, it gets me so emotional because when you have children who join the Cubs and Scouts intentionally so that they can take part in the parade, then they are learning the history.
“There is a saying that ‘I was not a hero, but I walked alongside many,’ and we have people in this country, and many in Mickleover, who were willing to don a uniform and go out and fight to protect you, me, us.
“In order to have just a road closure, a static road closure, it may cost in excess of £1,500. That covers insurance, and also every member of the marshalling team needs to be Road Traffic Management trained. But I ran it for 10 years and not a single person was hurt.
“We have descendants in Mickleover of the men whose names are on the war memorial. We have streets named after the men on that war memorial, and their descendants turn out every year.
“They don’t want to go to the city centre, the city council almost has a duty to run an event. These are people who come here to see their family’s names on the war memorial.”
Mr Dewis, whose relatives fought in the First World War, now fears that the loss of the parade will mean that the Remembrance Day service in Mickleover will “just be me and a few old squaddies”.
Plans for this year’s Remembrance event are still to be confirmed with four months to go.
He said the RBL only told him last year about what he feels is a rule change.
However, the Legion told the Derby Telegraph that it has had a policy in place for years that says civic authorities must take the lead in organising any parades, and that its rules are communicated to branches each year.
The RBL added that it leaves the insurance and management of TTMOs to local authorities and emergency services.
A spokesperson for the RBL said: “The Royal British Legion does not expect or allow its volunteers to organise remembrance parades, and we regularly remind branches that local parades are organised by local councils who have the expertise and legal knowledge to deploy road closures and other safety measures.
“Local parades are civic functions that are attended and supported by the Royal British Legion, not RBL events supported by civic authorities.
“Whilst we are very happy to be consulted and to provide assistance to organisers, the RBL is not responsible for, nor takes any final decisions regarding the delivery of these events.
“Derby City Council organises a large official Remembrance event each year attended by the RBL and other veterans organisations, and we are enormously grateful to them for their continued support.
“The Mickleover RBL branch is always invited to take part in the local official parade and service organised by Derby City Council.”
We have streets named after the men on that war memorial, and their descendants turn out every year Stephen Dewis