On Sunday, many of us came together to remember all those who gave their lives for our freedoms. This year, I joined the procession of remembrance through Chichester, marching from the Assembly Rooms, to the Market-Cross, and down to the war memorial in Litten Gardens. As in previous years, the service held at the memorial was deeply moving and it was wonderful to see all generations represented, from the scouts and guides, to young people from the High School’s CCF (Combined Cadet Force), and the men and women currently serving in the Armed Forces, right through to local veterans. Of course, there were also representatives from both local councils and the emergency services.
This year has been particularly special as it marked one hundred years of remembrance with the Royal British Legion. To mark the occasion, they organised a special garden of remembrance in Parliament, where I was honoured to plant a wooden poppy cross on behalf of all those from Chichester who gave their lives and made the ultimate sacrifice.
I recently met with church leaders from across the district – who in many cases led the community response during the pandemic, through organising daily calls to those living in isolation, or delivering food and medicines to the most vulnerable. Although the need for emergency support has passed thanks to the vaccine roll-out, everyone is keen to keep the spirit of community-based support going, so it was great to discuss their ambitions moving forward and where their assistance would be most impactful.
Another group of people who act as a lifeline to so many are the Selsey Community Forum, which is a one-stop support hub; helping people with everything from care provision, financial advice and accessing mental health support and much more. On Friday, I dropped by to see Mike, Karen and Nicola (a local GP) from the Care Shop team to talk about their work, and see how our ambitions as a Government to develop a much more integrated NHS will benefit community-level services. Whilst in Selsey I also held a round table with the local fisherman and popped into the RNLI Lifeboat Station to say hello to the guys on duty. It was inspiring to hear about their recent operations, which covered everything from search and rescue to Mayday call outs. All in all, we are extremely lucky to have so many dedicated people who do so much to help others.
