Cancellation of Eden Camp All Services Parade and Service of Remembrance

Dear Veterans Association/Cadet Group,

We hope that you are all well.

By now you would normally have received an invitation from us to attend our All Services Parade and Service of Remembrance (ASPSR) which, up until last year, we had hosted for 28 consecutive years.

Like most other museums and tourist attractions, the last 16 months have been the worst in our history. Prolonged periods of closure and restrictions on visitor numbers when we have been allowed to re-open have had a significant effect on our staff levels and finances.

Though we were able to re-open to visitors in May of this year, it will still be a considerable time before we can return to something like ‘normal’.

Like the rest of the country, we are hopeful that the proposed announcements from the Government regarding 19thJuly will allow us to increase our visitor numbers. However, after much consideration we do not feel that we would be in a position, either logistically or from a safety perspective, to host our ASPSR at a level where we can fulfil our requirements with regards to ensuring the safety and welfare of all those attending.

We do know that this announcement will come as a great disappointment to many of you as it is for us. We have already received a significant number of enquiries from veterans’ associations from all over the north of England seeking clarification and confirmation as to whether our ASPSR would be taking place (which has indicated that if we were to host the event we would have significant numbers of attendees.)

We are appreciative of the fact that several veterans’ groups and branches have already pledged their support, regardless of whether we would be hosting our ASPSR this year, by booking their group(s) in for a visit over the coming months. Whilst we are unable to offer free admission to veterans, as we do on ASPSR day, we do offer discounted entry to groups that pre-book with us and offer our educational visit rate to Cadet groups.

We are grateful for all the support that the Veterans Community has extended to us during the last 16 months and we would certainly welcome your support over the coming months. With a successful summer and autumn, and a return to something like normal, we look forward to being able to re-establish our ASPSR in 2022.

Thank you for your continued support.

Regards from all at Eden Camp