A school choir performed a moving rendition of the Beatles’ ‘Let it Be’ during the annual Holocaust Memorial Day service held in Lynn’s historic town hall on Sunday.

West Norfolk mayor Cllr Andy Bullen and Deputy Lieutenant David Flux were among readers at the service which was followed by a wreath-laying at the Holocaust Memorial Day tree planted for the first event 25 years ago.

“We must speak up against Holocaust and genocide denial, challenge prejudice and encourage others to learn the facts of the past for us all to have a better future,” said Cllr Bullen.

“Today’s theme encourages us all to engage actively with the past; to listen, to learn and to carry out those lessons forward. By doing so, we build a bridge between memory and action, between history and hope for the future.”

Members of the West Norfolk Jewish community also gave readings alongside local policing commander Insp Ben Jarvis, children from Greyfriars Primary School in Lynn, members of the police cadets and a representative from the town’s Soroptimists. The choir came from St Martha’s Catholic Primary School and pupils also gave a reading.

Rev Canon Dr Mark Dimond, of Lynn Minster, and West Norfolk council leader Cllr Alistair Beales also gave readings to the audience of around 100 people.

This year’s theme for Holocaust Memorial Day is Bridging Generations and it highlights the vital role of the younger generation as the world loses its last living links with the Holocaust, which saw six million Jewish people murdered during World War Two.

“As we lose those first-hand witnesses, it is beholden on the rest of us to continue to share the testimonies, discuss the atrocities and learn from the experiences of those who were directly affected,” said a spokesman for the West Norfolk Jewish community.

The service made reference to the posthumous step-sister of Anne Frank, Eva Schloss, a Holocaust survivor and president of the Anne Frank Trust UK who died earlier this month. She was the last surviving link to Anne, whose diary has been published in more than 70 languages and who died in Bergen Belsen in February or March 1945.

The national Holocaust Memorial Day is held on Tuesday, January 27 which is the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. The day will be marked with services across the country and people are asked to light a candle to commemorate all who died.