Saturday’s game against Peterborough United – our final home match before Armistice Day on 11th November – is our annual Remembrance fixture as we pay our respects to all those who have lost their lives in conflict.
We invite supporters to join in the commemorations at the Toughsheet Community Stadium as we remember those who have served and sacrificed for their country and ask supporters to be in their seats by 2.45pm tomorrow to play their part.
Commemorative wreaths will be laid after a guard of honour will welcome the Wanderers’ and Peterborough United teams onto the pitch before Club Chaplain, Wanderers COO and Bolton Wanderers in the Community CEO Phil Mason will read the Ode to Remembrance.
This will be followed by a bugler playing the Last Post ahead of a minute’s silence prior to kick-off at 3pm.
The Wanderers’ players will wear the poppy emblem – a symbol of Remembrance for more than a century – on their shirts, which they will also wear in the League One fixture at Stockport County on Saturday, 9th November.
The shirts and the corner flags from Saturday’s game, which will also have a poppy printed on them, will then be auctioned off to raise vital funds for the Royal British Legion, the country’s largest Armed Forces’ charity. Poppies will also be on sale around the stadium from Horwich Air Cadets.
Among the guests who will help form the guard of honour are those that have served our country in more recent conflicts than the two World Wars, along with family representatives of some who lost their lives and were Bolton Wanderers fans.
These include, Julie Hall, founder of the Darren Deady Foundation formed in memory of her son, Kingsman Darren Deady, who died from wounds sustained in Afghanistan.
The Foundation’s mission is about “reaching out, helping all,” and offering comprehensive support to veterans and their families. The service includes providing essential resources such as furniture, food, clothing, temporary housing with a path towards permanent solutions, guidance on accessing benefits, and emotional and mental health support.
The Foundation is always seeking volunteers, partners and donors to support their mission in helping as many veterans and their families as possible. A link to their work can be found here: www.facebook.com/DeadyFoundation
You can read Phil’s Remembrance message and his tribute to former Wanderers’ captain Harry Goslin, who served and died in the Second World War, in Saturday’s matchday programme ‘The Wanderer’, on sale around the ground for £3.50.