Council asked to thank residents of Wootton Bassett (Bradford Liberal Democrats)

Bradford Liberal Democrats <info@bradfordlibdems.org.uk>

Council asked to thank residents of Wootton Bassett

March 12, 2010 12:45 PM

Lib Dem Councillor Howard Middleton and Qasim Khan will be putting a motion to the Council expressing gratitude to the people of Wootton Bassett and the local branch of the British Legion for their actions to honour fallen service personnel in Afghanistan.

Councillor Middleton said,

" The people of Wootton Bassett are expressing the thoughts of all of us who appreciate what our service personnel are doing. They have been sent their by our Government and deserve our support whether we agree with what they are being asked to do or not.

272 coffins have passed through the town and the number of people lining the streets on our behalf has grown from a few dozen to several hundred. It seems appropriate for this council to thank them for doing this for us."

The full text of the motion is below

This Council Meeting notes that:-

over one hundred repatriation ceremonies have been held in Wootton Bassett as all fallen British servicemen return to this country through nearby RAF Lyneham; and

these ceremonies have grown from being observances by a small number of members of the local Royal British Legion to now being major events where hundreds of people, including veterans, shopkeepers and local residents, line the streets to pay their respects.

This Council Meeting therefore asks the Lord Mayor of Bradford to:-

write to Councillor Steve Bucknell, the Mayor of Wootton Bassett, and Anne Bevis, Branch Secretary of the Royal British Legion, expressing Bradford Councils gratitude to Wootton Basset Council and people of Wootton Bassett for honouring fallen servicemen from all across the UK.