Newark town clerk and town mayor celebrate Poland’s independence day in Newark’s twin town Sandomierz and compare it to Britain’s Remembrance Day
The trip to Poland for the repatriation of the Presidents’ remains coincided with the nation’s Independence Day.
Every November 11, the country marks its independence from Nazi and Soviet control.
The Newark delegation was invited to join the celebrations at the twin town of Sandomierz.
The day started with a service at Sandomierz Cathedral, which featured choirs, historic costumes, military personnel representing the fight for independence, and Scouts and pupils honouring their country’s freedom.
Newark’s town mayor Laurence Goff said: “It’s a remembrance for them.
“You don’t know what independence is like until you don’t have it any more. It is a really important day for the Polish.
“It took a long time for them to gain this independence.”
After the service, there was a parade with music, flags, military personnel and cadets from the cathedral, through the market place and on to Sandomierz cemetery.
There, a ceremony took place featuring speeches from the Sandomierz town mayor Martin Marzec, a local member of parliament and a general of the Polish armed forces.
Polish Independence Day is the same day as Remembrance Day in the UK.
Newark Town Clerk Matthew Gleadell said: “It was all familiar but different.
“I was sort of similar with all the flags, choir, military. We do all the same thing in the UK but is very evidently a very different culture."
He added: “Both days involve religious services in places of worship, services at a memorial, the laying of floral wreaths at the war memorials by different local organisations, military involvement and activity around the services including military parades, the delivery of speeches by community leaders and simply large gatherings of members of the public wishing to pay their respects.
“For me, seeing the Ind-ependence Day service brought home to me that our cultures are very similar indeed and highlights perhaps why we do enjoy such good relations with the Polish community.”
The ceremony ended with people paying their respect through flowers and candles at the independence memorial followed by a military display of marching and horses.
A patriotic picnic with free soup available to all the community took place next to the cemetery.
