Holocaust Memorial Day: Victims of genocide remembered at Romford service
Janine Webber at the Holocaust Memorial Day reception at Romford and District Synagogue - Credit: Archant
The victims of the Holocaust and other genocides were remembered at a special service yesterday.
Janine Webber at the Holocaust Memorial Day reception at Romford and District Synagogue - Credit: Archant
The community came together at Coronation Gardens, in Main Road, Romford, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which falls tomorrow.
The annual commemoration is on the same date as the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, which took place 70 years ago.
2015 also marks the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, in Bosnia.
The service, which began at 2pm, was attended by figures including Cllr Linda Trew, the mayor of Havering, and Rabbi Lee Sunderland, from the Romford and District Synagogue.
Janine Webber at the Holocaust Memorial Day reception at Romford and District Synagogue - Credit: Archant
You may also want to watch:
The mayor’s cadet, corporal Harry Fant, gave a reading and Rev Mike Powers, from St Edward’s Church, in the Market Place, shared his reflections.
Marshalls Park School’s choir provided music at the service and a subsequent reception at the synagogue, which saw Holocaust survivor Janine Webber share her experiences.
Most Read
- 1 Plane crash in Upminster sees man taken to hospital as a priority
- 2 Road and rail: Disruptions to watch out for in Havering next week
- 3 Man 'wraps metal chain around woman's neck' in Hornchurch park attack
- 4 West Ham free to build new training facility as council approves plans
- 5 ‘It is our moral obligation’: Upminster school launches mental health team
- 6 Romford celebrity scandals: Stars who hit headlines for the wrong reasons
- 7 Revealed: The most popular baby names in your area in 2020
- 8 Free holiday swimming sessions return for Havering schoolchildren
- 9 Kem Cetinay’s Array restaurant to host Halloween 'ball'
- 10 Beam Park station 'can't go ahead without government support', council says
A new memorial was also consecrated.
Before the service, Cllr Trew said: “Holocaust Memorial Day gives us an opportunity to understand and learn from those who have suffered oppression.
“It reminds us that we must never forget our responsibility to challenge discrimination.”
See more on Janine’s story and the service in this week’s Recorder.
