We still remember them
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
WHILE Remembrance Sunday commemorations may have been shorn of many of the usual trappings, the pride of local communities in the fallen remained staunchly undiminished.
The Covid-19 pandemic left its mark on ceremonies in Buckie and the surrounding area, with the public encouraged not to attend.
However, the service strongly reaffirmed that the act of remembrance is carried in the heart, not in pomp and ceremony.
In Buckie itself, the parade down High Street of veterans, serving members of the Armed Forces and local organisations, plus the salute just before it entered Cluny Square, were all ruled out due to the regulations.
However, the fallen were not forgotten at the small but nevertheless respectful service held in the Square.
Led by Rev Canon Jeremy Paisey, the service welcomed a small band of veterans along with the wreath laying party.
Opening the service, Rev Canon Paisey called in prayer for "reconciliation between the nations [and] that all people may, together, live in freedom, justice and peace".
A scripture reading and the exhortation that "We will remember them" heralded the haunting notes of the Last Post before the two minutes' silence in memory of the fallen.
The silence was ended with the traditional Scottish lament Flowers of the Forest and the the Reveille before the wreath laying party were called upon, one by one, to lay their poppy tributes.
In his prayer of intercession, Rev Canon Paisey quoted the words of St Francis: "Where there is hatred, give love.
"Where there is injury, pardon.
"Where there is distrust, faith.
"Where there is sorrow, hope.
"Where there is darkness, light."
In order to make the service as accessible to as many people as possible, the Buckie branch of the Royal British Legion streamed it live on their Facebook page where, at the time of writing, it was still available to watch.
Although like many other services across the country the proceedings in Buckie and the surrounding area were very much truncated by the circumstances of coronavirus, the British Legion and their many partners worked very hard to overcome the many hurdles facing them to put on fitting remembrances for the fallen.
