Disputes over poppy day services

A two-minute silence has been observed since the end of WWI

Clashes over the way people in Wales remember their war dead have emerged as the nation marked Remembrance Sunday.

Llandudno town councillors confirmed a decision not to invite senior politicians to its Sunday service.

In Chirk, Wrexham, ex-soldiers boycotted a church service because the vicar would not read out the names of World War I fallen.

In Aberystwyth, red and white wreaths were laid on different days, but the council denied there was any conflict.

Llandudno Town Council said it had taken the decision two years ago not to invite the local MP or AM to the Remembrance Day ceremony.

The council said, however, that it was not a ban on politicians attending.

The red poppy is for peace exactly the way the white poppy is Gareth Lewis, British Legion

"We take a pragmatic approach that people are welcome to attend - but not necessarily by invite," a council spokesman said.

"It's not a case of banning politicians. If they want to come then they can - but it's not going to be by special invitation. It really is the British Legion's parade."

But Conwy AM Denise Idris Jones said she was "upset" not to be invited to the event as she did not want local people to think she had simply not turned up.

In Aberystwyth, arrangements were made for white and red wreaths of poppies to be laid on different days.

The white wreath was laid on Armistice Day - Saturday, 11 November - and the red poppies by members of the British Legion on Remembrance Sunday.

Gareth Lewis, of the British Legion, said the charity had "no qualms" about the white poppy, but said members had objected two years ago when the wreath was laid next to the red poppies.

Mr Lewis said: "We remember people with the red poppy and we know where the money goes - we don't know where it goes with the white poppy.

Vicar Tony Rees in Chirk will not read the names of world war dead

"The red poppy is for peace exactly the way the white poppy is. We can't see the need for it, but people can do what they like - that's why people fought."

Jim Griffith, of Aberystwyth Town Council, said the council supported both poppy campaigns and denied there was any disagreement over the commemorations.

"The white poppy remembers the civilians who have died in wars, it's not an anti-war stance," he added.

But there was still a dispute in Chirk, where British Legion members refused to attend the St Mary's Church service over their dispute with the Reverend Tony Rees.

Mr Rees said he would not read out the names of those who died in the conflict at the service.

The minister said naming people from the first and second world wars limited the scope of Remembrance Sunday, which marks the dead from all wars since 1914.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan was among those at the Remembrance Day service in Cathays Park, Cardiff at 1030 GMT on Sunday.