A remembrance event was held outside the Barrow Town Hall on Saturday (June 8) to pay tribute to the brave heroes who risked their lives to help change the course of the Second World War.

The event marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day which saw Allied Forces land on the beaches of Normandy resulting in the liberation of Western Europe.

Veterans of all ages assembled outside the town hall including members of the British Legion, British Army and local Sea cadets with this being Ulverston Air Cadets' first parade.

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The day began with a proclamation by the Town Crier at 10am with new Mayor of Ulverston Graham Scrogham among the dignitaries that attended.

At 11am, the Armed Forces procession was flanked by The Royal British Legion (RBL) Riders Branch before Councillor Fred Chatfield, the deputy mayor of Barrow, accepted the D-Day flag on behalf of Barrow to be proudly displayed to honour those who sacrificed their lives for their country. 

The ceremony was followed by several performances by the Royal Philharmonic Brass Section, Age Uk Barrow and District Choir, Just in Time Dance band and Another Mister.

Three Royal British Legion (RBL) Riders Branch members attended - Simon Evans, Helen Scarr-Evans and Phil Kenny.

Helen has raised thousand of pounds by making crochet Remembrance Day poppies. 

(Image: Newsquest)

She said: "The Riders Branch tends to attract a demographic which is slightly younger, because of the bikes which important.

"A lot of people tend to think that veterans are old people when they're not.

"There's a lot of young uns, 19, 20, that have come back from Iraq and places that have been injured, they're veterans at the end of the day. We need to encourage the young ones to get involved.

"And with the Poppy Appeal too," Simon added: "This isn't just about grandad who fought in D Day, it's about the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq.

"It's important to raise that awareness and show that the support is there."

This sentiment was echoed by Flight leftenant Liz Parlor Squadron Commander of Ulverston Squadron who said: "We're losing more and more veterans, every year it's less and it's getting consigned to the history books.

"If we're not careful we're going to repeat the mistakes of the past."

(Image: Newsquest) Ray Browne Squadron Leader RAF VR(T), now retired, added: "Absolutely. It's up to the youth of the future to pass the message on."

In terms of the turnout, Flight Lieutenant Ralph Wilson of the Barrow branch of the RAF Association said: "It's been very good, the attendance has been fantastic, the amount of people that just came to watch in the background and all the veterans turned out.

"The ones that couldn't march, they were then in position, so when I presented the flag, they were able to take part because normally we would have a parade for Remembrance Sunday and Battle of Britain and a number of veterans with mobility problems wouldn't be able to take part, but today, we included an enormous amount of people."

(Image: Newsquest) Julie White, formerly women's Royal Army Corps, who is now a primary school supply teacher said: "It was nice because we saw the veterans and the younger ones coming through from the cadets, which is you want and you're trying to promote it otherwise it will die a death. 

"As one of the few women in parade it's important to remember there are women in the armed forces too."