Ashford leaders commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day 2025
Published: 10/02/2025
On January 27, Ashford Borough Council leaders and town representatives marked Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 by planting a posy by the Anne Frank tree in the Ashford Memorial Gardens as part of a service of reflection.
In attendance was Mayor of Ashford Cllr Lyn Suddards, Ashford’s MP Sojan Joseph, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent Sir George Jessel, the Leader of the Council Cllr Noel Ovenden, the CEO of Ashford Borough Council Tracey Kerly, Cllr Charles Suddards and the Mayor’s Chaplin, Cathie Aldis-Saunders.
Together, the Mayor of Ashford and Sir George Jessel placed the posy by the tree, which itself was planted in June 1999 to commemorate Anne Frank and all the children who lost their lives to war in the 20th century.
The service of reflection featured prayers, a reading of ‘First They Came…’ by Martin Niemöller, a blessing and a period of silence for reflection.
Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 marked 80 years since liberation at Auschwitz-Birkenau and the theme for this year’s Memorial Day was ‘For a better future.’
The message behind the theme is to enable people of all backgrounds to remember those who were murdered because of who they were, to learn from genocide and to commit to take further action for a better future.
Further information on Holocaust Memorial Day and why it’s so important can be found on our website.
