Last weekend was Remembrance Sunday, and with a long service history across Dagenham and Rainham there were a number of remembrance events. This year Jon Cruddas MP for Dagenham and Rainham attended the Rainham service. This year was bigger than ever, with what looked like a thousand local residents; who alongside veterans, local cadets and scouts, and dignitaries ? marched down Upminster Road South from the working men's club to the War Memorial in Rainham Village.
With so many services taking place Jon Cruddas sent representatives to all of them in Dagenham Village, Dagenham Heathway, and this year Fay Hough, a Rainham resident laid a wreath at Romford War Memorial.
Jon commented: "Ever since I can remember I have worn a poppy. My dad would take us to the cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday?he was a sailor in the navy for 27 years and we were brought up to honour service men and women. I wear a poppy on Armistice Day in remembrance of all the brave men and women who died no just in two World Wars, but all conflict.
"Dagenham and Rainham has a long service history and I am proud to wear a poppy and remember our freedoms are built on the sacrifices of those who went before us. Every year the service at Rainham gets bigger and this year was no different, the amount of effort put in by residents and organisations is overwhelming and a testament to memory."