Bygone Thanksgiving Service
(June) Thanksgiving Service 2011
Our twelfth Annual Service was held at:
Holy Trinity Church
Mossford Green
Barkingside IG6 2BJ
on Wednesday 22nd June 2011 at 7.30pm.
The seating in Holy Trinity Church was full to capacity.
At the end of the service, everyone was handed a single red rose.
To download a copy of the Order of Service, please click the following link:
OOS Thanksgiving Service - 22.06.11.pdf
Please click on the following link to read the messages of thanks received: Thank you messages - 22.06.11.pdf
For more information please contact our Head Office (H L Hawes & Son Ltd Funeral Directors) on 020 8550 4047.
(November) City of London Cemetery & Crematorium Remembrance Day Service - Friday 11th Nov 2011
The City of London Cemetery & Crematorium at Aldersbrook Road, London E12 5DQ marked this year's Remembrance Day with a brief outdoor Service at their World War II Memorial on Friday 11th November at 11.00am.
Everyone was welcome to go along and join them to remember all those who have given their lives so that we may enjoy our freedom. Their experienced team was on hand to assist anyone who may have needed help with access or mobility.
Please call Jennifer Taylor on 020 8530 2151 or email cemetery@cityoflondon.gov.uk for more information about the event.
Alternatively please visit their website - http://cityoflondon.gov.uk/for more details.
(November) Remembrance Day - Friday 11th Nov 2011
The choice of the poppy flower as the symbol for Remembrance Day is due to the flower being mentioned in the poem 'In Flanders Fields' by Canadian army doctor,
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. It is believed that he wrote the poem on 3rdMay 1915 after he witnessed the death of his 22 year old friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, the day before.
Flanders, the scene of some of the most dreadful fighting in the First World War, was often blanketed in poppies whose red colour was seen as a fitting symbol for the bloodshed in the gruesome world of trench warfare.
World War I is often referred to as the Great War, which is a label that can only be attributed to the conflict in terms of magnitude rather than magnificence. Indeed, more than 16,500,000 people (including soldiers and citizens) died during World War I and some 20,000,000 soldiers were injured.
Whilst the statistics make for a decidedly depressing read, the scale of human suffering that resulted from the conflict could never be given justice by mere facts alone. The numbers, however relevant in a factual context, do not speak for the millions of individuals who died in a war that will be forever remembered for its sheer futility.
Nevertheless, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, Germany signed the Armistice a treaty drafted between the Allied and German forces to mark the end of the First World War on the Western Front. The significance of this event was such that actual fighting was brought to end in World War I, although it was not until the Treaty of Versailles that peace was formalised.
In fact, it could be argued that the true significance of the Armistice and, subsequently, the Treaty of Versailles, was to precipitate the Second World War, as the treaties ultimately played a role in the powerful nationalism that later swept through Europe.
Today, Remembrance Day is regarded as an opportunity to commemorate the dead not only from World War I but from all conflicts. Although officially observed by the Commonwealth of Nations, Remembrance Day serves as a useful reminder that human suffering and tragedy are the only real victors of war. Therefore, it is now customary for people to wear poppies on Remembrance Day and the days leading up to the event as a mark of respect for all those who have fallen in past conflicts.
For more information about the work and support of The Royal British Legion please visit their website - http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/
'In Flanders Fields' - Poem
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That
mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing,
fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset
glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we
throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who
die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae (1872-1918)
(December) Forest Park Cemetery & Crematorium Christmas Carol Service - Wednesday 7th Dec 2011
On Wednesday 7th December, Forest Park Cemetery and Crematorium held a Christmas Remembrance Service in their Chapel at 6.00pm.
Conducted by the staff at Forest Park, the service consisted of readings and carols which allowed the bereaved to reflect and remember their loved ones at a difficult time of the year.
Please contact Forest Park Cemetery and Crematorium on 020 8501 2236 or visit their website - www.forestparkcrematorium.co.uk/ for more details.
(December) City of London Cemetery & Crematorium Christmas Carol Services - Sunday 18th Dec 2011
Hosted by the City of London, in their beautiful Grade II listed newly revonvated Cemetery Chruch, Canon Ann Easter led an eloquent programme of Carols to celebrate the Christmas Spirit on Sunday 18th December.
Two Services - 1.00 - 1.45pm and 2.30 - 3.15pm.
The music and solo pieces were provided by the amazing talents of the children of the Newham Music Trust.
Their Carol Services were free of charge to attend and this year was extremely popular.
For more information about the services, please contact Jennifer Taylor on 020 8530 2151 or email cemetery@cityoflondon.gov.uk
More details of the services can be found on their website - www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/