I was privileged to join colleagues at this afternoon's Remembrance parade of military personnel and uniformed groups. The parade began at the top of North End and finished at the memorial in Katharine Street, The Pipers Lament was as touching as ever and reminded us that many of Croydon's sons and daughters have been lost in war over the years.
I came back later to read the cards on the wreaths and noticed the one remembering Rifleman Danny Simpson who was killed on July 2009. Rfn Simpson was killed by an improvised explosive device in Sangin, Afghanistan, with six other soldiers who killed in a 24 hours period. Having arrived home I have looked up Rfn Simpson's story and discovered that he left his mother and father, two brothers and and eight month old son. I don't know if the Simpson family still live in Croydon, or even whether they were at today's ceremony, and I hope that they won't mind me mentioning their son, brother and father today.
We will remember them.
