May 8th 2026
The Flag Ceremony for the Holdcroft family
The day started at Christchurch Cobridge, where the family of Pte Alfred W Holdcroft met with Mike Lightfoot, Lloyd Cooke, Ruth Butler and Rob Price to lay poppies at the North Road and District WW1 Memorial and the Christchurch WW1 Memorial.
A gathering at the Council Chamber
A warm welcome from The Lord Mayor Steve Watkins , Lloyd Cooke of Saltbox kindly opened the proceedings as Master of Ceremonies. Alfred Holdcroft delivered a deeply moving address on behalf of the Holdcroft family expressing his thanks for bringing his Grandad home.
The Lord Mayor spoke about Pte A.W Holdcroft's ultimate sacrifice and reflected on the role of custodian of the Flag until he was able to officially present it back to the Holdcroft Family.
The MP David Williams delivered a poignant speech conveying the nations thanks to Pte A. W Holdcroft and his generation of soldiers emphasising the importance of the next generation never forgetting the sacrifice they made.
Researcher Ruth Butler spoke of how she and Rob Price pieced together the clues that brought Pte Alfred Holdcrofts story together and read the poem 'The Day My Family Came.'
