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Watch: Salford pays tribute on Battle of the Somme Centenary


Today at Swinton Town Hall a commemoration was held for the thousands of lives lost at the Battle of the Somme one hundred years ago.

The City Mayor, Paul Dennett, and Ceremonial Mayor, Karen Garrido, lead the poignant service involving music, a poem and the laying of wreaths for the fallen.

A moment of silence was observed in remembrance of those who fought during the battle whilst a short poem and evocative background music was played.

Shortly afterwards the congregation walked down to the Swinton Cenotaph war memorial to lay wreaths alongside a member of the Lancashire Fusiliers, four public sector workers, City Manager Jim Taylor and children representing Eccles Rugby Club.

The public sector workers represented four different factions of the people who supported the war effort: nurses, industrial workers, council workers and firefighters.

They each carried a photograph of a person who had died, laying their memory to rest.

The memorial garden around the Cenotaph was surrounded with people witnessing the emotional and moving ceremony.

Karen Garrido said: “We are commemorating the people who died at the Somme, it is a personal affair for everybody.

“We are doing this on behalf of the people of Salford.”

Hundreds of Salford Pals died on the first brutal day of battle on Friday 1st July 1916.

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