A flag designed by an 11-year-old Huddersfield girl will fly proudly over Kirklees town halls on Covid Memorial Day on Wednesday (March 23).
Bethany Cookson, who attends Moorlands Primary School in Huddersfield, created the design as part of a district-wide competition and has now seen her colourful picture made into a real flag.
All Kirklees schools were invited to design a Covid Memorial Day – also known as National Day of Reflection – flag and the winner was chosen by the Mayor of Kirklees, Clr Nigel Patrick.
Bethany’s flag will fly over the town halls of Huddersfield, Batley, Cleckheaton and Dewsbury when Kirklees Council joins the rest of the country in remembering loved ones lost to Covid-19, reflecting on the sacrifices we have all made, thanking the heroes of the pandemic and celebrating the togetherness we have shown throughout.
Explaining her fantastic design, Bethany said: “I thought the world with a mask on it showed not just our struggles and people’s struggles, but everyone’s struggles.”
And describing how she felt about her design being chosen as the winner, Bethany added: “It was quite surreal because I didn’t think it was that good. I saw so many other great ones. It’s quite crazy.”
Becky Freeman, deputy head teacher of Moorlands Primary School, said: “The children are very proud of winning the competition. They really embraced the inter-school competition and we had hundreds of entries. We’re just really proud that we won.”
To mark Covid Memorial Day, the council has worked with residents across the whole borough to create a video entitled: “Our Covid-19 journey: People of Kirklees.”
The video – just one way that Covid Memorial Day will be respected – features residents from across Kirklees who share their experiences, struggles and emotions as they reflect on the pandemic and its impact on them.
At 8am on Wednesday March 23 the video will go live on Kirklees Council’s YouTube Channel and will be shared on Facebook and Twitter.
