​Mayor joins Bury tribute on Gallipoli parade

On Sunday Bury stood united in remembrance of the 46,000 Allied soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War Gallipoli campaign.

The annual event holds particular significance for Bury as the first soldiers on the beaches of the peninsula in the ill-fated 1915 assault were the 1st Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers, originating from Bury. Six of them were awarded the Victoria Cross.

The successor regiment to the Lancashire Fusiliers, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, marched through the heart of Bury and laid wreaths at Bury’s Cenotaph where they were accompanied by The Mayor of Bury, Councillor Jane Black.

A new stone sculpture was unveiled in Gallipoli Garden with the names of all 18 Lancashire Fusiliers who were awarded the VC during the war.

The mayor said: “As a community we are proud of our history and particularly of those soldiers that have fought, and continue to fight, for our freedom. Days like this highlight the cost of this freedom on both the soldiers and citizens and the ultimate sacrifice that is made by so many during wartime.

"We were very pleased to be joined by the mayors of Rochdale and Salford, who share our longstanding links with the Fusiliers."

ENDS

Issued: 30 April 2019.

Picture: The Mayor of Bury, Cllr Jane Black, with Maj Gen Paul Nanson and Col Brian Gorski.