Your Local Independent 206

April 2026 Page 3 AD SALES 01204 478812 THE community came together in Langley to honour the memory of three local soldiers. A special dedication service saw streets in the area and a local park named after Fusilier Lee Rigby, Corporal Joel Hal- liwell and Lance Corpo- ral Scott Hetherington. ‘Rigby Way’, ‘Joel Halliwell VC Park’ and ‘HetheringtonWay’ have been named in honour of the lives of the ser- vicemen, who had deep and lasting connec- tions with the Middle- ton community. Relatives of the three men, along with local residents, councillors, the mayor of Rochdale and members of the Armed Forces commu- nity came together to pay their respects, reflect and remember. The service at Willow Park included speeches in memory of Lee, Joel and Scott, the laying of wreaths, the playing of the Last Post, poetry, the Kohima Epitaph and dedications. West Middleton coun- cillor Phil Burke was instrumental in ensuring local areas were named in honour and memory of the soldiers. He said: “This was an incredibly moving and emotional dedication service for our fallen heroes, which A BRONZE bust of Rochdale mayor Janet Emsley has been officially unveiled at the town hall. The sculpture, commissioned as part of the town’s year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture and funded by Arts Council England, celebrates female leadership and the borough’s female creative talent. It was unveiled by the woman herself, who described it as “quite a surreal moment”. She added that she was truly humbled. The bust is now on permanent display at Rochdale Town Hall. Councillor Emsley said: “I’m very proud to finally see it, quite a strange thing to come face to face with, a little emotional really. “Rochdale’s progress in the creative fields over the last few years has been magnifi- cent, so to see it culminate in this year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture has been incredible.” A proud mother, grandmother and great grandmother, the mayor was a teacher and director of performing arts at Wardle High School until her retirement in 2015. As a councillor she has represented Little- borough Lakeside since 2014 and was elected mayor of Rochdale in 2025. Councillor Emsley was also a longstanding member of Arts Coun- cil England’s North Area Council. Artist Kara Lyons, based at Ebor Studio in Littleborough, created the work in a bid to address the imbalance of female civic leaders. But having known the mayor for many years, she said it was a tough commission. Kara said: “Janet taught all three of my children, we go back a long way, so there was added pressure on this one to get it right. “She has worked tirelessly to support the arts and I hope this is a fitting tribute during her year as mayor too. I don’t think we cele- brate female civic leadership enough, and I’d like to see women represented in public spaces as much as men are. It’s important that young women see female role models.” The sculpture follows the unveiling of a statue in 2016 of Rochdale born 1930’s film star, singer and comedian Dame Gracie Fields – the first female statue in Greater Manches- ter since Queen Victoria 100 years earlier. Readings: Rochdale’s Poet Laureate SammyWeaver (centre) with the town’s young poets in residence Alende Amisi (right) and Sasha Mostafa (left) Fallen heroes remembered forever Remembered: Fusilier Lee Rigby Salute: Honouring the three soldiers (Photo credit: Rochdale Council) showed the community at its very best. I would like to pay tribute to the family and friends of the soldiers who attended the service in memory of their loved ones. I am just so proud of how the event came together, as we paused to remember Lee, Joel, Scott and Stephen. “The signs look abso- lutely amazing and I know how much the day meant to the Langley community. Thanks to everyone who attended the service and for mak- ing it a dedication service to remember.” Rochdale’s mayor Janet Emsley added: “The nam- ing of the park and local streets means the sol- diers will be part of the community forever. We remember them today and we will remember them for years to come. Lest we forget.” Fusilier Lee Rigby grew up inMiddleton and served in the Royal Regi- ment of Fusiliers. His life tragically ended on 22 May 2013, when he was murdered by terrorists outside a military bar- racks in south London. Corporal Joel Hal- liwell grew up in Mid- dleton and served as a corporal during the First World War. Joel, who died in 1958 aged 76, received the Vic- toria Cross, the country’s highest military award, and to date remains the only Middleton per- son to have been given the honour. On May 27, 1918, Joel was captured by the Germans and remained a prisoner with them for a short time before escap- ing. On his way back to the British lines, he brought wounded com- rades to safety in spite of heavy German shellfire. Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington, who was also a Middleton resi- dent, died serving in Iraq on 2 January 2017, at the age of 22. Scott was a member of the Duke of Lanca- shire Regiment and was a vehicle commander in the Force Protec- tion Platoon. TONY Walsh, one of the UK’s most renowned performance poets, vis- ited Rochdale to cele- brate the town’s year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture. Over the past year Roch- dale’s Poet Laureate Sammy Weaver has led writing work- shops with 20 schools in local libraries, as well as hosting workshops with people from across the borough Many of the poems that were created feature in the new 120-page book called ‘Weaving Words’, capturing the uniqueness of the borough and celebrating local people and places. The poems draw on Roch- dale’s rich co-operative history as a source of inspi- ration. Over 650 young peo- ple have taken part in poetry workshops, with many of their poems featuring in ‘Weaving Words’ and a children’s edi- tion of the anthology called ‘Poems to Change the World’ to be released soon. As well as readings by Tony Walsh and Sammy Weaver, the town’s young poets in residence Alende Amisi and Sasha Mostafa also performed in front of a sold-out audience at Number One Riverside. Other local poets taking part included Kirsty Olczak, Eileen Earnshaw, Farhan Zahoor, Year 5 student Rania Faisal, Freddie Earnshaw and Beth Kilgallon who have helped shape the town’s year in the spotlight. Rochdale’s mayor Janet Emsley read her own poetry as well as closing the event. She said: “Listening to our amazing poets bringing their words to life was fabulous. I do think there is a poet in all of us, and sometimes it only takes a little encouragement, which is what our Poet Lau- reate has been doing bril- liantly boroughwide over this last year. “There is no greater inspi- ration for words than the love for our local communities, and there is so much pride in Rochdale which is great to see, and is reflected in these poems.” Visitors also took the oppor- tunity to view the Rochdale in Rhyme exhibition currently on display at Number One River- side, featuring more than 40 poems written by local people during the past year. It is described as ‘a cele- bration of creativity, commu- nity, and the power of words. inspired by Rochdale.’ Poets’ weaving words Mayor is captured in bronze Face to face: Mayor Janet Emsley and the sculpture