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Families pay tribute to 'all those lost' to Covid

Mick Lunney
BBC News, Yorkshire
BBC/Nicola Rees A woman attaches a wooden sign that reads "Jim Allen, taken too soon, always in my heart xx" to a metal structure.BBC/Nicola Rees
Enid Allen honoured husband Jim at the event in Sheffield on Sunday

People paid tribute to loved ones lost during the Covid-19 pandemic during a day of events in South Yorkshire to mark its fifth anniversary.

Key workers who helped keep services running and supported others were also celebrated.

In Doncaster, the city council said it would give away small memorial trees for people to plant, while in Barnsley the Glass Works Square was a focal point for singing and reflection.

Enid Allen said a service in Sheffield offered a chance for her to remember her husband Jim, who died from Covid-19, and "all the other people who lost their lives".

Mrs Allen recalled how her husband had tested positive on 5 November 2020 and died 11 days later.

Because of lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures, she could not be with him when he died.

"I got a phone call saying that he was about to take his last breath, was there anything that I wanted to tell him," she told BBC Look North.

"And the next phone call were, 'I'm sorry to tell you your husband's died', and that's just how it happened."

A steel memorial shaped like a willow tree, Sheffield City Hall is in the background
Sculptor George King said the Sheffield memorial was "a symbol of grief and also of growth and rebirth"

The service in Sheffield earlier was one of many events held across the nation.

In Barnsley, events started at 11:00 GMT with an address by the mayor, poetry readings from Ian McMillan and singing from primary school pupils.

There was a performance from Tom Masters and the Barnsley Metropolitan Band.

The covid memorial in central Barnsley, large figures of adults and a child in bronze on top of a stone plinth
Barnsley's memorial is called Reverence, and is by sculptor Graham Ibbeson and engraved with poetry by Ian McMillan

Council leader Sir Steve Houghton said: "What I'm most proud of in Barnsley is our people.

"During an incredibly difficult time, we saw an extraordinary display of community spirit that showcased the strength of Barnsley and our communities."

He said the day of reflection was an "important opportunity to honour the loved ones we lost".

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust A large memorial in the shape of a rainbow covered in colourful hearts, a bench in the foregroundDoncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Doncaster's Covid memorial is covered in hundreds of colourful metal hearts, each with an engraved message of thanks, or words in memory of those who died during the pandemic

In Doncaster, the city council offered free trees to residents, who were able to pick them up from the Covid Memorial Wood on Sandall Beat Road.

The council said it was as a way of remembering loved ones and the efforts of key workers.

People in Rotherham were invited to the town's living Covid memorial, Hope Fields, which was designed as a tribute to those who lost their lives, as well as key workers and those in the emergency services.

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