Bolton Wanderers Football Club is asking all supporters to be in their seats before 2:50pm on Saturday 31 October, ahead of the Sky Bet Championship fixture against Bristol City at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, so they can take part in the Act of Remembrance.
The Act of Remembrance takes place on the pitch before kick-off. The Vicar of Bolton, Rev Hannah Lane, will again read the Ode to Remembrance. After the Ode, Bugler WO2 Nick Burroughs, from the Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band will play The Last Post to introduce the minute’s silence. The silence will end with Reveille, signalling the return to match preparations.
Wreaths will be laid pitchside by WO1 Michael Brockbank of the Royal Navy, LCpl Emma Perry of the British Army and Wing Commander Adrian Morris of the Royal Air Force will take the salute. They will lead a Guard of Honour made up of Standard Bearers Bob Nicholls, John Edwards, Martin Eckersley and Mick McMorrow, alongside veterans, serving members of the armed forces and club staff.
A Wanderer Who Served
The Guard of Honour will include Ed Salmon, who joined Bolton Wanderers as an apprentice in 1976. Ed went on to serve eight years in the Royal Navy. In 1982 he sailed to the South Atlantic aboard the frigate HMS Minerva during the Falklands conflict. As the ship’s physical training instructor, he steered the ship from the bridge.
You can read Ed’s story in full in our Black History Month feature, ‘A series of firsts’: https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/series-firsts-ed-salmon-story-part-two-beyond-burnden
Honouring Fallen Supporters
The club again welcomes the families of two deeply missed supporters. Kingsman Darren Deady, of the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, passed away in 2010. Corporal Jack Stanley, who served with the Queen's Royal Hussars, passed in 2012. Both men were avid Wanderers fans whose lives ended from injuries sustained during active service in Afghanistan.
Darren’s mother, Julie Hall, a co-founder of the Darren Deady Foundation which has recently gained charity status, supports veterans in Westhoughton, will join the Guard of Honour . Brenda Wilson, the mother of Cpl Jack Stanley, will also be present on the pitch.
Pre-Match Activities
At approximately 12:30pm, a separate wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the Nat Lofthouse Statue. It will involve representatives from the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust, Bolton Wanderers Remembrance Group, the Bolton Wanderers Youth Advisory Group and the Bolton Wanderers Disabled Supporters Association.
Horwich Air Cadets will also be collecting around the stadium before the game for the Poppy Appeal.
Tickets
If you haven’t yet bought your ticket for Saturday, you can get yours here and join us at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.