Neil Hamilton, MS for Mid & West Wales, and Leader of UKIP Wales is backing a national TV campaign to bring the nation together and remember those who died during the pandemic.
Mr Hamilton, a member of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs committee, is supporting a National Day of Reflection on Tuesday March 23, the anniversary of the UK’s first lockdown.
He said:
“I am pleased to support the national TV campaign which started this week and urge everyone to take its message on board.
“Since the first lockdown began in March 2020 hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives due to Covid and many other causes.
“Millions have been bereaved and I applaud Marie Curie’s initiative to bring the nation together to remember those who died during the pandemic.
“On March 23 we are all being asked to reflect on what has happened in the past year, and how we have all been affected, by showing our collective support.
“Although, we are not yet out of the woods, and Covid is still very much part of our lives, I would like to think this National Day of Reflection will show support for those who have been bereaved and look to a brighter future for us all.
“I shall be observing a minutes silence at 12 noon and urge my constituents to do the same.”
Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end of life charity is spearheading the National Day of Reflection.
Together with over 100 care organisations, charities, businesses, membership organisations, emergency services, public sector bodies and community groups they are asking the nation to take a ‘minute to reflect and a moment to connect’, to remember, grieve for and celebrate the life of anyone who has died during the last year and to show solidarity for the millions of people who have been bereaved.
Over 670,000 people have died in the UK over the last 12 months, over 139,000 of those have been covid-related. Marie Curie estimates that over 6 million people have been bereaved since the pandemic began, and many have been unable to say goodbye to loved ones or grieve properly.
At the centre of the new campaign is a 60 second film which uses powerful visuals of possessions of real people and families, as well as additional footage and imagery to convey a message of remembrance.
The film is accompanied by ’Supermarket Flowers’ by Ed Sheeran, a song which was written about his late grandmother. The song track was donated free and the ad concludes with the line ‘take a minute to reflect and a moment to connect’.
Marie Curie Chief Executive Matthew Reed said: “Possessions can be powerful reminders of the people we have loved and lost, as well as help us in our grieving process. A person’s clothing, personal items, books, plants, letters, empty chair– anything really, can come to symbolise them after they’re gone and can keep their memory alive – and that’s something to cherish right now.
“We need to take a moment to mark the huge amount of loss we’ve seen in the past 12 months and show support for everyone who has been bereaved – be that from Covid or any other cause. Many people are in shock, confused, upset, angry and unable to process what has happened. But there is an overwhelming need to come together, to remember, to grieve, to celebrate.
“On 23 March, we invite everyone join together to hold a minute’s silence at 12 noon, take a moment to reach out to someone they know is grieving, and shine a light at 8pm.”
The National Day of Reflection will see a nationwide minute of silence at 12 noon, followed by a bell toll at 12:01, and the nation appearing on their doorsteps at 20:00 to shine a light using phones, candles, torches – signifying a beacon of remembrance and support for the millions of people that have been bereaved over the last 12 months. Prominent buildings and iconic landmarks will also light up across the UK.
