'Best county in the world' - Suffolk Day 2024 sees communities come together

Residents, schoolchildren and visitors rubbed shoulders with notable names this morning as the Suffolk Day 2024 celebrations began.

The launch event took place from 9.30am on Haverhill’s Market Square with the theme “create more in 24”, focussing on culture and creativity as well as celebrating the bonds which link Suffolk’s communities.

Guests were welcomed by Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, Clare, Countess of Euston, who said: "I think Suffolk is the best county in the world and this is our chance to celebrate that and to work together to make it better."

Guests seated at the Suffolk Day 2024 celebrations in Haverhill (Image: Newsquest)

Cllr David Smith, Haverhill town mayor, called Suffolk a "friendly, green, diverse and welcoming county" and added: "This year's celebrations centre around culture and creativity, something which Haverhill has in abundance."

Cllr David Smith, Haverhill mayor (Image: Newsquest)

Pupils Holly and Seth, from Castle Manor Academy, and Sarah and Ryleigh, from Samuel Ward Academy, both run by Unity Schools partnership, addressed the crowds with a proclamation written by the students.

Holly, Seth, Sarah and Ryleigh reading their proclamation (Image: Unity Schools Partnership)

It focussed on the history and culture of the county, referencing famous faces from Gainsborough to Ed Sheeran, as well as the diverse array of activities, clubs and social groups on offer in Suffolk.

They read: "If anything is worth moving, living and breathing for, it is the people moving, living, and breathing with you.

Suffolk Punch horses at the event (Image: Newsquest)

"This is why it is important that our County of Suffolk is a place where relationships are made, where we are able to be ourselves as individuals.

"The bonds formed through the place that we live, the safe place that we call home, gives us our identities."

Clements Primary Academy pupils singing A Million Acres (Image: Unity Schools Partnership)

Pupils from Clements Primary Academy performed a rendition of A Million Acres before local singer-songwriter Patrick Sneezum took to the stage with original song Moon Rising, written especially for Suffolk Day.

Following the music, the late John Norman, who was awarded the Suffolk Medal in a private ceremony in February 2024, surrounded by his friends and family, was honoured by Yvonne Gilchrist-Mason, High Sheriff of Suffolk.

Mr Norman dedicated himself to enhancing Ipswich and inspiring the next generation, combining his passions for teaching and construction when he began working at Suffolk College in 1979 where he had several senior roles, before project managing the £75m scheme to build Suffolk New College.

He was a member of the Waterfront Partnership Group, in 2012 became elected chairman of the Ipswich Society where he had been a member since the early 80s and in 2023 was granted Freedom of the Borough by the Major of Ipswich.

Mr Norman and his wife, Christine, welcomed numerous foster children into their home, alongside his three children, as well as running the Ipswich Foster Care Association to support other carers.

Mrs Norman told the crowd her late husband was 'very proud' of the medal and that her family treasures it.

Martin Carver being presented with the award (Image: Suffolk Community Foundation)

Martin Carver was then honoured with a Suffolk Medal for his 'unparalleled impact' on the county's heritage managing the field programme at the Sutton Hoo site during the 1980s and 90s.

Mr Carver was born in Glasgow in 1941 and spent 15 years as an officer with the Royal Tank Regiment before completing a diploma in Anglo-Saxon Archaeology at the University of Durham and becoming an archaeologist, working freelance until 1986.

He was then appointed director of a new programme at the Sutton Hoo site near Woodbridge and, over the next decade, adopted a "sensitive and pioneering" approach to analysing Sutton Hoo which has been admired by experts across the world.

Under his leadership, the team used innovative techniques to dissect six mounds not excavated in 1939 and to solve the mystery of the second ship as well as two previously unknown execution cemeteries.

Mr Carver, dubbed 'the new King of Sutton Hoo', also created the Sutton Hoo Society in 1984 and is a trustee of The Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company, which is using authentic methods to reconstruct the King’s ship which was buried at the site for 13 centuries.

Ahead of the ceremony, Mr Carver said: "It became very much a part of my life, so I feel hugely flattered by this medal."

Notable faces, including town mayors and community leaders, at the celebration (Image: Newsquest)

Dancing took place after the ceremony (Image: Newsquest)

The Suffolk Medal is the highest award that can be made by Suffolk to an individual.

Rev'd Max Drinkwater, rector of St Mary's Church, addressed the crowd with closing remarks before invited guests retired to the church for tea and coffee.

Rev'd Max Drinkwater, rector of St Mary's Church (Image: Newsquest)

Suffolk Day is a county-wide event that celebrates all that makes the area special.

It takes place each year on June 21, the longest day of the year.