Sunday shoppers at the Newcastle Quayside market stopped to pay their respects on Remembrance Sunday when members of the Northumbria Unit of the Maritime Volunteer Service (MVS) charity hosted a small floating tribute to the fallen.
The MVS unit lead a small procession of vessels up the River Tyne before stopping between the iconic Millennium and Tyne Bridges to take part in a two-minute silence, before placing a wreath into the river.
The event was organised following a successful pilot last year when the unit paid its own tribute onboard its rigid inflatable boat. This year, the MVS supplied three vessels and were joined by two fireboats from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and a historic fishing vessel owned by the North East Maritime Trust. (South Shields based )
MVS Volunteer Officer Angela Carrington said: “I feel very proud and humbled by the response the Quayside shoppers gave to the two minute silence. I’m grateful to everyone who took part afloat. it was a very dignified way to pay tribute to the thousands of men and women who were killed in conflict.
“We are hoping to build on this event for next year.”
The MVS Northumbria charity meets at Newcastle Business Village, Benton, North Tyneside and at St Peter’s Marina Newcastle. More info www.mvs-northumbria.org.uk
