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10
Dec 2023

A candlelit service will be held at Harrogate’s Stonefall Cemetery next weekend to remember those who died in wars .
Members of the public can attend the Candlelit Christmas Remembrance service, which is being held by the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.
At the event, people will be provided with battery-operated tealights to place on the graves of the fallen. This will be followed by a short service of Remembrance.
Harrogate woman Benji Walker, whose son serves in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, was inspired by images of other Commonwealth war graves cemeteries in Europe lit by candlelight.
She said:
Members of the public can also sponsor a candle, with profits being split between The Commonwealth War Foundation and Help for Heroes.
Elizabeth Smith, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission public engagement coordinator, said:
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which oversees the foundation, was founded by Royal Charter in 1917.
It works on behalf of the governments of Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK to commemorate more than 1.5 million people who lost their lives in the two world wars.
Stonefall Cemetery is one of the largest CWGC sites in the north of England, with more than 1,000 commonwealth graves.
More than 600 of the casualties buried there served with the Royal Canadian Air Force, including two 17-year-olds, during the Second World War.
Ms Smith added:
The service will take place on Sunday, December 17 at 3.30pm.
The meeting point is the war graves plot adjacent to Forest Lane and parking is available in the cemetery car park.
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