Event is a bridge too far for ‘fatigued’ Jubilee volunteers

AN ARMED Forces Day event was cancelled yesterday because the organisers were “exhausted from the Jubilee” and would have struggled to put the picnic tables up.

The commemoration in Norfolk is one of the largest in the country but as a result of an ageing group of volunteers, this year, it did not take place.

David Phillip-Pritchard, secretary of the Cromer and district Royal British Legion said they had no choice.

He said: “The event organiser is bordering on exhaustion because they have been heavily involved in the Jubilee.

“They put events on with the council which included a tea party for Second World War veterans, a Spitfire flyby and a ‘weeping window’ of poppies.”

The idea was inspired by a public art installation in the Tower of London moat in 2014, which commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War and consisted of 888,246 ceramic red poppies. Mr Phillip-Pritchard said: “So we had a display of the poppies but it required 24-hour security, which was very tiring.”

Mr Phillip-Pritchard said many British Legion branches across the country had members that were ageing and not being replaced by younger volunteers.

He said most of the branch members were in their 80s and 90s. He continued: “The organiser, who is suffering from fatigue, is the third or fourth youngest member in the branch.

“He has done it for several years but sadly the membership doesn’t lend itself to sharing activities out. Even putting tables out before the main display has become a challenge.

“It’s lifting them up, then opening them and collapsing them up and putting them back after. We used the parish hall which is fantastic but part of the hire conditions is you put the tables out and you put them away yourself.”

Mr Phillip-Pritchard said that in the past they had got cadets to help but as they were unable to meet during the pandemic many had left.