All Souls Day Ceremony takes place at Newark Cemetery to thank Polish Servicemen who fought for their country

The All Souls’ Day Ceremony of Homage and Remembrance took place at Newark Cemetery on Sunday.

The service remembered and honoured the sacrifices of Polish Servicemen, who fought for their country abd the free world during the second world war and never returned home.

More than 400 Polish airmen and paratroopers who died during the war are buried in Newark Cemetery.

The service, organised by Newark Town Council and the Polish Air Forces Association, began with a procession led by Standards to the General Sikorski Memorial Cross.

Despite the rain, around 100 people attended the event, including the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, chairman of Newark and Sherwood District Council and the Mayor of Newark.

Several Polish Scouts from Nottingham and elsewhere attended the ceremony to pay their respects.

The Town Mayor, Laurence Goff said in his speech: “Cemeteries are very often bleak and stark places.

The War Graves section, with its own cross and rows of aligned headstones is, to me, an extremely peaceful and pretty place in which to rest.

“The story behind each grave is not known to each of us, but many of those who rest here will have known extreme heartache and pain before their deaths, and it is fitting that they should have a peaceful resting place.”

The three Polish presidents in exile buried there whose bodies will be returning home to Warsaw were remembered and thanked for their service.

The annual All Soul’s Day, a traditional remembrance day in Poland allows families to place lit candles and flowers on the graves of their late loved ones.

Mr Goff concluded: “Our prayers are with all the souls who have passed before us.

“Let the lighted candles be a token of hope that, in spite of all the sadness in the world, there is always light.”