At Wymondham Abbey and at the Wymondham Town Council office, books of condolence were signed by many local people. The Mayor of Wymondham, Cllr Kevin Hurn, read out the proclamation of the King to the people of Wymondham on Sunday 11th September 2022 in the Market Place. Along with flags around the country, the union flags in Wymondham were lowered to half mast until the morning after Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
During the period of national mourning, Kayleigh Rogers travelled to Sandringham to lay flowers and deliver a tribute from all the children at Stepping Stones Pre School, “which represents our little community at this historic time”. Kayleigh said: “I travelled with my husband, 2 children, my sister and my Nan (who greatly admired the Queen). We thought the whole experience was very surreal and it was so lovely to experience it in person. The smell of the flowers was amazing and it was lovely to see all the tributes. The children at Stepping Stones Pre-School enjoyed making their love heart and talking about the Queen. It was lovely to see it all in real life and to pay our respects.”
Nicky O’Grady from The Enchanted Willow also made the journey to the Queen’s West Norfolk estate: “Wow, what a humbling experience. We visited Sandringham today and laid some flowers and to pay our respects. It was quite spectacular and full of colour, the tributes really hit home how loved our Queen was. Being a florist I have got kind of immune to the smell of flowers but walking along the gates it really was a beautiful smell, I’m really glad we took the time out as a family to make sure we took this moment in.”
Former Vice-Chair of the Ex-Service’s Social Club, Fred Squires, paid his respects in person with a silent salute during the late Queen’s lying in state. He had set off from Wymondham at 7am and joined The Queue. He told BBC Look East: “She was the best in the world, everybody around the world loved her.” It was very moving to see my Queen, for the last time unfortunately. She was the greatest.”
Rick, aka Ruddy Muddy, is well known for his muddy van art. On this historic occasion it was no surprise when he created a fitting tribute to the Queen on his vehicle. He didn’t stop there as he spent a whole weekend drawing commissioned sketches from pictures of the Queen for her loving admirers.
On Sunday, 18th September Cllr Hurn led a gathering on the Market Place. It was a Moment of Reflection on the eve of the funeral of the late Queen. Members of the community gathered just before 8pm and were invited by Cllr Hurn to use the time in silence “to reflect on the lifetime of service which Her late Majesty devoted to the United Kingdom, the Realms and Territories and to the Commonwealth. The Queen was sure in her faith and steadfast in her duty, bringing constancy through 70 years of change. We will remember Her late Majesty with affection and gratitude and silently give thanks in our hearts for her unswerving devotion to us and to our Country.” The group then joined together in saying “God save the King” and singing the national anthem.
