Weymouth Anzac Day Service cancelled

Weymouth Town Council will not be holding the annual Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) Service on the seafront due to current COVID-19 guidance from the Government.

Instead, the council is encouraging residents to mark the event virtually. A Dawn Service will take place at Hyde Park Corner with key representatives. It is closed to the public but will be filmed for broadcast and available to watch from home. Graham Winter, Mayor of Weymouth Town Council, will also record a message for residents to commemorate the event, which will be available via Weymouth Town Council’s social media and website.

Weymouth Town Council Clerk Jane Biscombe said:

“It is with a heavy heart that the Anzac service on Weymouth seafront will not be taking place this year, but we encourage everybody to mark the day safely. Residents can join the online service from Westminster and also tune in to hear a message from the Mayor.”

“We are feeling hopeful that our Civic events in Weymouth can resume soon and we can return to marking events like this in person once again.”

Anzac Day commemorates the thousands of Australian and New Zealand volunteer servicemen who passed through camps and hospitals in Dorset during the First World War between battles in the Middle East and those on the Western Front in Europe. 

On 1 June 2005, a three-sided Monolith was unveiled on Weymouth Seafront, 90 years after the first Australian and New Zealand Arm Corps Troops arrived in Weymouth after action in Gallipoli in 1915.

Ordinarily residents of Weymouth would be invited to a service of remembrance and wreath laying in recognition of Anzac Day. While the service has been cancelled, Veterans’ associations are welcome to lay a wreath at the Anzac memorial either in advance, or on the day. However, they must adhere to current social distancing restrictions.