Flying the flag for the Commonwealth

A FLAG-RAISING ceremony was held at Warrington Town Hall to mark Commonwealth Day.
Senior representatives from Warrington Borough Council, the leader Cllr Terry O’Neill, deputy leader Cllr Mike Hannon, and deputy chief executive Katherine Fairclough, joined the Mayor, Cllr Peter Carey, to celebrate the occasion.
Warrington’s population has an estimated 2,000 people whose origins lie in other Commonwealth countries – almost one-tenth of the population.
The Mayor read out this affirmation to mark the day: “Joining together as members of one worldwide Commonwealth family, we raise this flag as a symbol of the ties of friendship we cherish, affirming our kinship and common purpose in building for the future towards shared goals of development and democracy, and commit ourselves afresh to working alongside one another in a spirit of respect and understanding, exploring new ideas and rising to fresh challenges, with all our sisters and brothers, wherever we may live, learn or work.”
An estimated 500 flags were raised throughout the United Kingdom by local authorities, civic dignitaries, community groups and charities in order to celebrate the country’s membership of the 53-nation Commonwealth.
The Queen sent her good wishes to those taking part saying she was pleased to learn that so many people were involved.
A record number of Commonwealth flags were raised on the day.