Celebrations were more sombre than had been planned following the death of Her Majesty The Queen as Denton marked two town twinning anniversaries on Saturday (17 September).
The Tameside town commemorated 30 years of being twinned with Montigny-le-Bretonneux near Paris, France, and 10 years of being twinned with Kierspe near Cologne, Germany.
Following the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II last week at the age of 96 and ahead of her state funeral on Monday, plans had to be altered.
The Mayors of Montigny and Kierspe, delegations from the towns, local dignitaries and residents came together for a Service of Remembrance for the Queen, led by Rev Miles Howarth from Christ Church.
During the poignant service at Denton Town Hall, residents and community groups were invited to lay flowers while there were prayers for Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III and the Queen Consort Camilla, speeches from official representatives, the singing of the national anthem and the signing of a book of condolence.
Denton MP Andrew Gwynne and Denton South councillor George Newton, president and chairman respectively of Denton Town Twinning Association, were among those present.
🇬🇧🇫🇷🇩🇪 We mark 30 years of Twinning between Denton and Montigny-le-Bretonneux and 10 years with Kierspe. The weekend should’ve been a celebration but with the late Queen’s passing it’s more sombre. We had a service of commemoration, laid flowers and signed the book of condolence. pic.twitter.com/kK6LvGYZY0
— Andrew Gwynne (@GwynneMP) September 17, 2022
Denton Town Twinning Association paid special thanks to Rev Howarth for leading the service and the delegations from Montigny-le-Bretonneux and Kierspe for their kind words of condolences and support.
Over the last three decades, town twinning has impacted dozens of Denton businesses, scores of Denton bands, hundreds of Denton residents and thousands of Denton schoolchildren.
The Town Twinning Association is a voluntary organisation which facilitates exchange visits to both twin towns for residents, clubs and schools.
Anyone who wants to get involved can contact Cllr Newton by emailing george.newton@tameside.gov.uk
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