A TOWN is still desperately looking for a band to come forward and play during its annual Remembrance Day parade.

Members of Blackrod Town Council and residents were told at a monthly meeting last night that the authority was “still struggling” to find any musicians to play the event on November 11.

The town clerk said that she had approached 11 regional bands to come and play at the event but had so far not secured one.

However she also added that since the issue had been raised by The Bolton News, following the authority’s last meeting on March 5, Blackrod Town Council had been approached by a group with potential interest in playing.

The meeting heard that Sergeant Kieran Slater from Preston had emailed the council to say that he had heard about the situation and that the Cumbria and Lancashire Wing Band may be interested in performing at the event, subject to further discussion.

The Yorkshire-based Greenfield Band, which played at the event last year, will not be able to play this year’s parade as they have already confirmed to play at the Westhoughton Remembrance Day parade which runs at the same time.

It was also confirmed at the meeting that the Blackrod Remembrance Day parade would take place in the morning and not the afternoon as has typically been the case.

The service will now be held at 11am, in line with the rest of the UK, and a second memorial will also be held at the Cenotaph at the junction of Church Street and Manchester Road.

The town clerk said: “We will be holding our service in the morning on Remembrance Day in St Katherine’s Church. There will also be a short service at the Cenotaph with maroons.”

Last year Blackrod marked Remembrance Day with a short dedication service at 10:30am before maroons fired at 11am.

A second event was then held on Remembrance Sunday, leaving Heroes Bar at 2:10pm, with a service at the Cenotaph at 2:15pm, before a parade and another service at St Katherine’s Church at 3pm.