DOZENS of dignitaries and residents turned out to a poignant ceremony to remember the victims of the Holocaust.

A special service was held at the Holocaust Memorial Stone outside St Mary’s Church in Kidderminster yesterday (Sunday, January 31) morning.

More than 50 people attended including the Mayors of Kidderminster, Bewdley and Stourport, the Chairman of Wyre Forest District Council Chris Rogers and Ian Hopwood, Chairman of Worcestershire County Council.

The Holocaust Pledge was read by Ian Miller Chief Executive of WFDC.

On the theme of "Not looking away or turning our backs", the Polish Consul for the West Midlands Councillor Fran Oborski MBE spoke about Jan Karski, emissary from Poland who had travelled to the UK and USA to tell the Allies about the death Camps in 1943 but whose pleas for action had been over ruled.

Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier also spoke of the genocide threats faced today.

Prayers were said on behalf of Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Polish Catholic and the Jewish faiths.

The Jewish speakers were Val and Dave Harrison. Val, previously Val Pargeter, is a previous Mayor of Kidderminster and Chairman of Wyre Forest District Council.

Flowers were laid at the Memorial. There was a two minutes silence with Last Post and Reveille being sounded by Heidi Worth, town bugler.

Meanwhile, members of the Bewdley branch of the Royal British Legion also held a Holocaust memorial service in the town on the same day.

Representatives laid flowers at the Holocaust Memorial Tee in Northwood Park, Bewdley, as they have done each year since 2008, to remember victims.

Previously in the day, other members of the Branch attended the Holocaust service at St Mary's Church.