THE citizens of Inverclyde never fail to turn out in large numbers for Remembrance Sunday services.

This Sunday will be no different, even if the weather is less than ideal, as was the case last year.

Torrential rain and high winds battered Inverclyde as people of all ages stood in silent tribute to those killed or injured in conflicts from the First World War to the present day.

As the Rev Alan Sorensen observed at the Wellpark service: “This weather is atrocious and not much fun. And it’s not much fun being in a trench.

“Those who laid down their lives for their countrymen, those who fought to defend our freedoms, those who gave us the ability and the right to gather here had no choice.

“Come hail, rain or shine they were called to duty and they stood firm.”

We all mump and moan about the weather, but those wise words certainly put our complaints in context.

Conditions were bad enough that day at Wellpark, but even worse on Lyle Hill, where special tribute is paid every year to the Free French Forces.

Whether you can see for miles up there in the sunshine, or you are bent double against the elements, it is always a poignant service.

The Second World War may have been a long time ago, but, as Provost Robert Moran has observed, memories of those terrifying nights of the Greenock Blitz are still strong.

Inverclyde will always remember.