Commonwealth Day 2019

On Monday 11 March 2019, Silloth-on-Solway took part in the Commonwealth Day celebration, with the raising of the Commonwealth Flag in the Community Garden on Silloth Green.  The ceremony was well attended, with pupils and staff from Silloth Primary School and Solway Community School, and representatives from other groups and organisations in the town, on what was a pleasant Spring morning.

At 9.45am, Cllr. Tony Markley, Mayor of Silloth welcomed everyone to the Flag Raising Ceremony.

Craig McKay and Kyle MacKenzie, pupils from Solway Community School read out the Commonwealth Affirmation. This common act of witness renews the commitment of people in Commonwealth countries to work together inclusively and in a spirit of goodwill towards democracy and development in which all can share.

Cllr. Markley read out the Commonwealth Day message from Her Majesty The Queen, Head of the Commonwealth.  “Today, many millions of people around the world are drawn together because of the collective values shared by the Commonwealth.”

At 10.00am, Cllr. Wilkinson, Deputy Mayor of Silloth raised the Commonwealth Flag, this being the fifth year that Silloth has taken part.

Cllr. Markley thanked everyone for attending the ceremony, something that the younger children might remember in years to come.

The Commonwealth theme this year is ‘A Connected Commonwealth’ and it has particular significance as we mark the 70th anniversary of the 1949 London Declaration which brought into being the Commonwealth we know today – a family of nations ‘freely co-operating in the pursuit of peace, liberty and progress’.

In a message from The Right Honourable Patricia Scotland QC, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, ’Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth is an occasion to acknowledge publicly and collectively, the continuing aspiration of the Commonwealth to build on common traditions and uphold our shared values of democracy, inclusive development and respect for diversity.