Bangor District LOL No.18

'The Twelfth'

Bangor 2006

April 2006

We are delighted to welcome you to Bangor to be with us to celebrate the 316th Anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. This is an important time in the history of the Orange family in Bangor, as it is our District Lodge's Centennial year and the Twelfth Parade is the highlight in a number of events that we have planned to mark this important milestone.

Part of the celebrations recognises two other important anniversaries in our history, The 400th anniversary of the Montgomery Hamilton settlement of the Scots in Ulster in 1606 and the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

These three important events though separated by centuries and unique in their own right, are nevertheless inextricably linked by a culture that we share and a decendency that across the globe has influenced the development of new nations.

Not since William Johnston of Ballykilbeg led his famous Orange Parade From Newtownards to Bangor in 1876, will Bangor have witnessed an Orange parade of this size and we thank you for making this possible in our centennial year.

We would like to thank all lodge secretaries who took the time to complete and return our questionnaire, this made the planning for bus routing and traffic management much easier and has allowed us to make special parking arrangements at the assembly area for those

lodges travelling by car.

The enclosed map will give those not familiar with Bangor town centre an overview of the parade route, location of the assembly area, the field and some information regarding access.

Visiting Lodges

Lodges arriving by bus will be directed along the ring road and in to the town via the Bloomfield Road (route outlined in pink) and debus at the assembly area. The buses will then be routed out of the town via the Gransha Road to a holding and marshalling area.

A parking area adjacent to the assembly area is being allocated to brethren arriving by private car.

Bangor will provide Marshals at the assembly area to assist with the arrival and dispatch of buses and assist your District Marshal to form up the district at its allocated position. The districts will be parading in numerical order and will be formed up accordingly.

All brethren and bands are required to be in the assembly area by 11.00am, as traffic diversions will be implemented at that time and the parade route cleared by 11.30am.

Visitors (Non Parading)

Visitors arriving by car may chose to use the car parks in the town, or make use of the ample space available in the Valentine Playing Fields (Demonstration Field). Visitors wishing to use the parking facility at the Demonstration Field my do so by following directions for Field Parking (Yellow Route). Parking in the field (£2) can be paid at the entrance or by purchasing parking tickets supplied to your District Secretary.

This access to the field will be open all day and after the parade has entered the field, vehicles may also exit by Abbey Hill Drive.

Visitors wishing to use the parking facilities in the town centre should be aware of road closures at 11.OOam and the possibility of traffic queuing.

Special arrangements are being made for disabled friends and visitors and a section of the parade route will be allocated for disabled parking. These parking spaces will be limited and if any disabled family members or friends wish to use this facility, Bangor District Secretary will issue a vehicle sticker on receipt of a request from your lodge bearing the lodge seal and vehicle registration. Please note that spaces must be claimed by 11.00am and no exit will be available until the parade has passed. Due to the limited number of parking spaces that will be available Lodge secretaries are requested to ensure that requests for stickers are only made on behalf of friends with genuine disabilities. .

Main Parade

1l.30am No.I8 (Bangor) District will leave the Orange Hall Hamilton Road (broken Blue line), moving along Upper Main Street, Castle Park Avenue, and Castle Park Road. At the same time the Marshals will move No.2 District (Lecale) from the assembly area into Gransha Road up to its junction with Castle Park Road. When Bangor District emerges from Castle Park Road and turns into Gransha Road, Lecale and then the other districts will follow in numeric order.

The parade (Blue Route) will continue along Castle Street, Hamilton Road, Donaghadee Road, High Street, Bridge Street, Lower Main Street, Upper Main Street, Abbey Street, and Newtownards Road and enter the Valentine Playing Fields via Abbey Hill Drive.

On arrival at the field, a Bangor Marshal will accompany each District to its respective set Down Points. These set down positions have been arranged so that the parade will be in the proper District order for the return route.

Home Parade

Parading order has been set to ensure that those districts with the furthest to travel will exit the town first and will not be impeded by local parades on their journey home.

The parade will leave the field led by Bangor No.I8 then the visiting districts in the following order. Lecale No.2, Castlewellan No.I2, Ballynahinch No.1?, Saintfield No.5, Comber No.I5, Upper Ards No.II, Holywood No.I4 and Newtownards No.4.

The parade will leave by Valentine Road (Green Route), Castle Park Road, Castle Park Avenue, Upper Main Street, Lower Main Street, Bridge Street, High Street, Bingham Street, and Mills Road. Bangor District will open ranks and allow the visiting districts to pass through in to Hamilton Road, Park Drive and Castle Street returning to the assembly area.

Districts will then be routed alternately along Gransha Road and Bloomfield Road where the buses will be parked for easy access to the Circular Road.

Notes

We have been working closely with the PSNI, Translink, Ambulance and other services in the planning of this parade and would ask you to communicate.the following to bands and visitors.

I) In Bangor is an offence to consume alcohol in a public place. The PSNI intend to strictly enforce this law to ensure that this is a fun day for anyone coming to Bangor to enjoy the parade. They have requested our co-operation to ensure that the day remains a pleasurable experience for all. The entire town centre is

monitored by CCTV and anyone drinking in public, or behaving in an anti social manner is most probably going to be recorded on camera.

2) We have calculated that the parade will take Two hours to pass any given point and take approx one hour to travel the route. The return route will take an estimated thirty minutes. It is essential therefore that we stick strictly to the scheduled times. In this respect we would request Worshipful Masters to comply with the instructions of the Marshals to ensure that buses access is not obstructed and on arrival passengers are promptly debussed to allow the vehicle to be moved to make room for other arrivals.

3) Bangor District Secretary will issue Vehicle Passes to lodges wishing to include vehicles in the parade for elderly brethren. Requests, under seal, for permits should state the vehicle registration number.

Note. Since the parade is a celebration of the century, if a lodge wishing to bring along vintage vehicles, we will be pleased to include it in the parade.

4) A static Police and Medical point will be stationed in the Demonstration Field close to the Home parade exit point to deal with incidents such as lost children property and minor injuries.

5) Along the parade route and in the demonstration field, marshals will be easily identifiable (wearing hi visibility orange jackets). Marshals will be equipped with radio communications and will be in constant contact with the police and medical services. They will be available to help with directions and advice and if necessary provide direct contact with the emergency services.

We look forward to welcoming all of the brethren to Bangor, some perhaps for the first time and sincerely hope that you, your friends and families have an enjoyable and memorable Twelfth.

Yours Sincerely & fraternally

John W Ballard

Worshipful District Master

Bangor District LOL No. 18