THE first Remembrance Day of the new millennium will see scores of services being held across the area this weekend in honour of our fallen war heroes.

Many churches are holding Remembrance Day services at 10.30am on Sunday including St Leonard's, Beoley, St Philip's, Webheath, St John's Church, Greenlands and St Luke's, Headless Cross.

The Redditch branch of the Parachute Regimental Association will be carrying its standard through the town centre from 10.30am on Saturday morning where a short service will be held before members go on to the war memorial at Plymouth Road.

About 10-12 members will also line up at Easemore Road on Sunday to march with other members of the forces and the Royal British Legion.

Members of the village branch of the British Legion will be attending a service at St Peter's Church, Inkberrow, at 11.45am.

And from 9.45am, those belonging to the Astwood Bank branch will take part in a parade before a 10am service at St Matthias and St George Church, and will afterwards march to the Evesham Road war memorial.

There will also be a remembrance service at Sambourne war memorial and at 10.45am at St Paul's, Cookhill.

The Redditch branch of the British Legion will be observing the two-minute silence in the Kingfisher Centre at 11am on Saturday before going to the Plymouth Road cenotaph.

And on Sunday, members will gather at the Easemore Road club at 10.30am and parade to St Stephen's Church for an 11am service.

The Webheath branch is holding its service, which will be conducted by The Rev David Copely, a former Far East POW, at Webheath Village Hall, Heathfield Road, at 10.45am.

A short memorial service and silence will be held at the war memorial at Paddocks Road, organised by the Wythall branch of the Royal British Legion on Saturday.

A remembrance service will be held at the organisation's headquarters, Houndsfield Lane, from 9.30am on Sunday followed by a parade to the war memorial, involving legion members, scouts, guides and the Red Cross, where there will be another service and wreath laying at 11am.

Studley parish church, St Mary's, is staging an act of remembrance at the war memorial at 10.50am on Saturday, followed by a Parish Link service at 10.45am at the Parish Centre and morning worship at the parish church on Sunday.

The Church of Ascension, Mappleborough Green, is also holding a service at 9.30am on Sunday and another, followed by a wreath laying at the war memorial takes place at 10.55am at St Laurence's Church, Alvechurch.

St Peter's Church, Crabbs Cross is holding a requiem mass at 10am on Sunday, while a service at St George's Church also takes place from 10am and will be followed by an act of remembrance scheduled for 11am.

The Alcester branch of the Royal British Legion will parade up High Street for a two-minute silence at the St Nicholas' Church war memorial on Saturday, followed by a Festival of Remembrance concert at the Greig Centre in the evening.

The town parade takes place on Sunday where many groups will march from Bleachfield Street at 10.30am to a remembrance service at St Nicholas' Church.

St Peter's Church, Wootton Wawen, is holding a family remembrance service at 10.30am on Sunday, followed by commemoration around the village war memorial.