Birchington raises the Commonwealth Flag

Raising the Commonwealth flag in Birchington Photo David Brown

The Commonwealth flag has been raised in Birchington this morning (March 12).

The ceremony, in honour of Commonwealth Day, was accompanied by a peal of bells at 10am.

Chairman of Birchington Parish Council, Neville Hudson, read a statement from the HM Queen before the flag was raised by the Chairman of the Birchington Branch of the Royal British Legion, Max Houghton. Cllr Hudson followed the raising of the flag with a statement from the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland.

The annual Commonwealth Day brings together people from countries in Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, Americas, Asia and the Pacific.

This year’s theme is ‘Towards a Common Future’. More than 2.4 billion people live in the 53 nations that make the Commonwealth.

Information and photos from David Brown