Armed Forces Day tribute to county’s service personnel

Jul 1 2009 by Graham Miller, Wishaw Press

TRIBUTES were paid to service personnel at a ceremony in Motherwell to mark the first Armed Forces Day.

Veterans joined North Lanarkshire Council Provost Tom Curley and the Queen’s representative in Lanarkshire Lord Lieutenant Gilbert Cox at the civic centre.

And a special flag was raised to mark the event on Saturday, June 27, and honour servicemen and women. The Government have changed the name from Veterans Day to raise awareness and appreciation for those on active duty.

Provost Curley, who unveiled the flag, said: “I was extremely proud to unveil the special flag to honour our past, present and future servicemen and women. Some of our veterans travelled from as far afield as New Zealand to be at the special ceremony and I was delighted to welcome them to the flag-raising and civic function afterwards.

“North Lanarkshire is an area well known for its support of the armed services and those who attended the ceremony appreciated the opportunity to recognise the important contribution made by our armed forces.”

Armed Forces Day is designed to help the people recognise and honour the tough challenges faced by service personnel all over the world, and raise awareness of the past and continuing contributions of the Armed Forces. Those serving often endure testing and dangerous circumstances. Tens of thousands of people marked the day.