THERE will be no veterans' parade through Hove this Remembrance Day for the first time since the end of the First World War.

The event has been cancelled because of the dwindling number of veterans, cuts in resources and a lack of police officers.

Brighton and Hove City Council and the Royal British Legion (RBL), who put the event together, have instead decided to hold a larger church service at All Saint’s Church in The Drive.

Wreaths will be laid by dignitaries at the Hove memorial in Grand Avenue after the service.

The Brighton parade, which goes to the Old Steine war memorial, will remain.

Councillor Mary Mears, who is also the chairwoman of the city's RBL branch, said: "This is the first time it’s been altered in this way and afterwards there will be a meeting to discuss how things went.

"The most important thing for the city is to remember those that have fallen and that is the overriding most important part of remembrance Sunday.”

There has been disappointment at the news with councillor Dawn Barnett, for Hangleton and Knoll ward, among those criticising the decision.

She said: “It’s quite an occasion with the marching and the band. Hundreds and hundreds of people turn up to watch it.

“The children like to be part of the event and not all the children are going to go through a long service in the church. A lot of parents won’t go to the church.

“I’ve had several people phoning me to say it’s not acceptable.

“We are a city, but Hove has got its own identity and I think we should have a parade. If places like Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and Ditchling can have their own parade, Hove should be able to as well."

Martin Warren, head of the council's civic office, explained that it was not just the numbers who take part in the parade but also the lack of veterans available to help marshal and lead the event.

The police also said only half of the officers provided last year were available due to stretched resources.

However, Mr Warren expressed hope that the parade could return in the future if enough people come forward to help.

He said: "The RBL work so hard to put this event together and it is a real shame that it is not going to take place. But the sad fact is that there are fewer veterans each year.

"But if there are enough people who come forward then we work at putting it on again."

Hove has a long and proud history connection with the armed forces with thousands of veterans serving over the two world wars and in conflicts since.

Hundreds answered their country's call in the First World War and joined the Royal Sussex Regiment with dozens fighting at the Battle of Boer's Head - otherwise known as the Day Sussex Died.

The young men of Hove answered their country's call again in 1939 and have fought in conflicts since including in the Falklands and the First Gulf War.

Among those to have made the ultimate sacrifice in more recent years include Jonathan Carlos Bracho-Cooke, 24, of Sandringham Close, Hove, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007.

  • If you would like to volunteer to help out next year write to Martin Warren at The Civic Office, Brighton Town Hall, Bartholomew Road, Brighton.

HELP OUR HEROES HAVE THE DAY THEY DESERVE NEXT YEAR

FOR decades the proud people of Hove have lined the streets on the second Sunday of November to remember the war dead.

The parade dates back to the end of the First World War, which claimed the lives of many of the then town’s young men.

This photograph from 1929 shows the crowd 20 deep in places, all heads bowed in unison.

But over the years, as veterans of the First and Second World Wars have passed away, attendance has dropped.

And this year, after much deliberation, the Royal British Legion and Brighton and Hove City Council made the difficult decision to cancel it.

While there will be a service at All Saints’ Church in The Drive, the parade is no more.

Many smaller towns and villages have retained theirs, with the likes of Ditchling, Burgess Hill and Lewes all holding parades on Sunday.

But Hove, for all its veterans and those who have served and died since 1914, will not have one.

Hove and the Armed Forces have a long and proud relationship dating back many years.

When war was declared in August 1914, hundreds went to their local recruitment office to answer the call of King and country.

In particular huge numbers of men from working class areas including Poets Corner signed up to fight.

Perhaps Hove’s best known soldier of the First World War is Captain Theodore Wright VC.

Born in Lansdowne Place in 1883, he trained to be an officer at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, before joining the 57th Field Company, Corps of Royal Engineers.

He was posted to the Western Front in the early weeks of the war and was at Mons where his actions saw him posthumously awarded with the highest award for gallantry, the Victoria Cross.

It was on August 23 and his men were under heavy fire while trying to hold a bridge.

They were in danger of being overrun and so it was decided to blow it up.

Captain Wright, who had already been wounded in the head, ran out into the open and tried to connect the charges to the structure.

But every time he moved from cover, dozens of German guns would fire from no more than 30 yards.

He eventually made it to the underside of the bridge and was swinging along the girders when he lost his grip and fell in.

Remarkably he was pulled out alive.

But only weeks later he was killed while helping wounded men into a shelter.

Two decades later war was declared again and the young men of Hove signed up again.

Among them was Bernard Jordan, who rose to fame in 2014 when he absconded from his care home to attend a D-Day anniversary event.

Mr Jordan, who was the mayor of Hove in the 1990s, travelled to Portsmouth in 1941 aged 17.

He was eager to do his bit and signed up to the Royal Navy as an electrician.

He spent his war on the destroyer HMS Intrepid, which was to escort 19 Arctic convoys to and from Murmansk and Archangel, in order to supply the Allies with food and weapons.

However, his wartime exploits were unknown to most until June 2014 when he made his way to Normandy wearing his war medals under his grey mac.

A missing person hunt was launched, with the authorities unaware the plucky veteran was simply trying to reach France to honour his mates.

But Remembrance Day isn’t just about the First and Second World Wars – it is about the many wars and conflicts since. Jonathan Carlos Bracho-Cooke, of Sandringham Close, Hove, was just 24 when he was killed in Iraq in 2007.

He had always dreamt of being in the Army and despite his dyslexia had beaten tough competition to be awarded a place at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

He was posted to Iraq in early 2007, realising his dream of serving his country.

But on February 5, while on patrol in Basra, he was killed by a roadside bomb. He had been in the country just six weeks and later that year was due to marry his fiancée Laura Bottomley.

To think that Hove will no longer remember these brave men with a march is extremely sad.

But the reality is that with the dwindling numbers, organisers had to make a difficult call.

But all is not lost.

Organisers have said that if enough people volunteer to help next year then the parade can return and the brave men of Hove can be given the Remembrance Sunday they deserve.