Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister joined climbers, mountain rescue volunteers and walkers on the summit of Great Gable to take part in what is believed to be the highest annual Remembrance service in England.

Josh a member of Wasdale Mountain Rescue made the climb alongside volunteers from the Team, taking part in the annual ceremony organised by the Fell & Rock Climbing Club (FRCC).

Held at 899 metres (2,949 feet) above sea level, the Great Gable service brings together hundreds of people each year to honour those who gave their lives in conflict – including members of the FRCC who fell during the First World War.

Standing at the memorial plaque near the summit cairn, Josh joined fellow climbers and rescuers in a two-minute silence at 11am, surrounded by the dramatic peaks of the Lake District.

Josh MacAlister MP said: “It was a real privilege to take part in the highest Remembrance service in the country. The walk up Great Gable is a challenge, especially with the Cumbrian weather, but it’s an incredibly special way to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice – including the climbers remembered on the summit plaque.As a Mountain Rescue member, it was especially meaningful to climb alongside volunteers from the Wasdale team and share this moment of reflection together. From the top, with the fells stretching in every direction, it’s impossible not to feel humbled by their courage and the peace they fought to protect.”

The Great Gable service has been held every year since 1924, when the Fell & Rock Climbing Club gifted 3,000 acres of the surrounding land to the National Trust in memory of their fallen members.

At the Whitehaven Memorial Councillor Joseph Ghayouba was asked to stand in for the MP saying: “This year, Josh MacAlister MP attended the Remembrance service at Great Gable and asked me to lay a wreath on his behalf at the Whitehaven Service.

“It was an honour to do so. The message I chose to include read: ‘They gave their tomorrow for our today.’

“This sentiment is not only felt on Remembrance Sunday—it also echoes through international law, captured in the opening words of the United Nations Charter, born from the ashes of the Second World War: ‘We the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.’

“A timeless reminder of the cost of peace, and the shared duty we all bear to protect it.”

Fellow MP Julie Minns represented all of Cumbria’s MPs at the county memorial at Rickerby Park, Carlisle.