COVID had a big impact on Lyme’s relationship with our twinning association across the English Channel.
Lyme became official twinning partners with the historic Normandy fishing port of Barfleur in 2013 following the signing of the Charter and Declaration of Friendship between the two communities.
No reciprocal visits were possible during the pandemic lockdown and there were concerns that the relationship between Barfleur and Lyme might falter.
However, I’m delighted to learn that the association is very much alive following an informal visit by four members of the Lyme Regis/Barfleur Twinning Association.
Although Barfleur has a population of just 500, the village where William The Conqueror set off to invade England in 1066, it certainly punches above its weight from a history perspective.
The Lyme delegation recently enjoyed a weekend of activities, including a reception hosted by the Barfleur mayor, Madame Christiane Tincelin, who is reluctant to see the relationship fall into abeyance.
I am also also anxious to see the relationship grow and prosper and, accompanied by the mayoress, we visited my counterpart in Barfleur and as a result Madame Tincelin and her husband Luc have agreed to visit Lyme in February to attend a mayoral reception in the Guildhall to launch a membership drive.
Jackie and I also visited Creully, one of the most famous villages in Normandy, having been liberated on D-Day plus 1 during the war. I know the village well as President of Lyme Regis Football Club who enjoyed a 45-year twinning arrangement with the Creully football team.
Unfortunately, COVID prevented the celebration of the 40th anniversary of this unique arrangement but the football cub in Creully no longer exists. However, the council in Creully contacted me to say that they would like to have a closer relationship with Lyme as so many friendships had been established between the residents of each town.
The two authorities will now be discussing the possibility of establishing an official twinning of the two communities.
IT was standing room only in St Michael’s Parish Church for the annual Remembrance Day service, organised jointly by the Town Council and the Lyme branch of the Royal British Legion and conducted by the Legion chaplain Virginia Luckett.
The church was packed with representatives of local organisations, led by Royal British Legion standard bearer John Hunt with branch chairman Daniel Buckley acting as parade marshall. Several former and serving military members were also in attendance.
The parade, which lined up at the entrance to the Langmoor Garden and marched to the parish church, included the following organisations: the Royal British Legion, the Lyme Regis Town Council, Power Monkeys Sea Cadets, Girl Guides, Scouts, Girl Guides, Sea Scouts and Cubs, the Rotary Club, Fire Brigade, Lifeboat Crew, Coastguards, Montague Lodge Freemasons, Lyme Regis Carnival, Lyme Regis Christmas Lights, Lyme Regis Pantomime, First Aid Co-Respondents and the Woodroffe School.
Together with Freeman of the Town Joshua Denning, they laid wreaths at the altar before the service.
The civic party, led Town Crier Alan Vian, joined the parade at the Guildhall.
As President of the Lyme branch of the Royal British Legion, I delivered a reading and the Lyme Regis Roll of Honour listing the names of the 100 men of Lyme who died in two World Wars was delivered by Major Ian Marshall, followed by the Exhortation and Kohima Epitaph read by branch chairman Daniel Buckley. Music for the hymns was provided by Lyme Regis Town Band and church organist Alan Davies
After the service, during which the sermon was preached by the Reverend Luckett, the organisations paraded past the War Memorial in Monmouth Street and Combe Street to The Square where the two minutes silence was observed with the last post being played by Bandmaster Ellis Holt.
Accompanied by the Legion Vice-President, the Vicar and the Town Crier, I spoke to all the organisations thanking them for their support.
The Remembrance weekend started on the Saturday with the laying of wreaths at the grave of the seven men who lost the lives when HMC Formidable was sunk in Lyme Bay on July 1 1915 and the Polish Memorial in Anning Road where Legion member Anya Driver sang the Polish National Anthem.
The Armistice was observed in Lyme on November 11 with a short service around the War Memorial where wreaths were placed by the mayor and branch President Philip Evans MBE and Major Ian Marshall, the branch vice-president, with the Last Post by Dennis Bye.
It was Lyme at its finest.