The Mayor of Hiroshima was visiting Manchester to officially confer on it a certificate of thanks for agreeing to be a Lead City of the Mayors for Peace organisation. A special schools event was held, along with a civic lunch and a meeting with senior staff from the Mines Advisory Group. Hosted by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, the morning events were also attended by the NFLA Steering Committee Vice Chair, Merthyr Tydfil Councillor Ernie Galsworthy, on behalf of the wider organisation.
Councillor Galsworthy said “I had the honour to meet Mayor Matsui at Manchester University in the company of the Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Paul Murphy, in my capacity as Vice Chairman of UK and Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities. It was a very poignant meeting in the building where scientists split the atom. The whole atmosphere was heightened by the events in Paris the previous night and the fact that my family was caught up in these events. This seemed to bring the Japanese delegation the realisation of how close and personal the Paris events were.
The theme of the event was peace and our abhorrence of nuclear weapons. This was the subject which was wonderfully displayed and performed by 3 schools in the Manchester area whose children were a credit to their communities and families. We later moved on to the Mayors parlour at Manchester Town Hall where a light lunch awaited us and hosted by the Mayor Councillor Paul Murphy. It was a great privilege to be involved in these events and another platform to promote
