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National
Sam Volpe

Field of Remembrance opens in Gateshead's Saltwell Park after emotional Royal British Legion service

The Royal British Legion held a poignant service to open the Field of Remembrance in Gateshead' s Saltwell Park on Saturday.

In place until November 21, the Field of Remembrance is one of just six in the UK and features more than 3,000 wooden crosses and a special poppy-based "cascade" from Saltwell Towers.

The service featured an exhortation, the Last Post played, and there was a "Remembering Together" address from the Lord Lieutenant's Cadet.

Read more: Why Saltwell Park in Gateshead's Low Fell has long been a 'people's park'

Padre James Breslin and Hari Shukla addressed the crowds while musical accompaniment also included the Reveille on the bugle and the Royal British Legion reciting the poignant Kohima Epitaph. The Field of Remembrance is a tribute to all those who have lost their lives in conflict since the First World War.

The public is now able to visit and pay respects for the coming two weeks. Across six Fields of Remembrance, more than 55,000 tributes will be planted in total. They take the form of a Little Remembrance Cross, Muslim Crescent, Star of David, Sikh Khanda, Hindu Om or a Secular Tribute.

A cascade of poppies in Saltwell Park, unveiled as part of the opening of the Royal British Legion's Field of Remembrance. (Newcastle Chronicle)

Marc Reynolds, chair of the Northumberland Royal British Legion, said: "This is one of six Fields of Remembrance. It's about the local communities coming together to remember the fallen.

"I'd like people to come down - they'll have the opportunity to come down and remember family, friends or relatives. Maybe relatives they've never met and just take that time to remember."

The Duchess of Northumberland Jane Percy and the Lord Lieutenant Lucy Winskell helped to plan a tree during the ceremony. This tree is part of the late Queen's Green Canopy 'Tree of Trees'.

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