Local Remembrance Sunday

Young and old gathered at the Polish War Memorial in South Ruislip this morning for the local Remembrance Service. The War Memorial commemorates the Poles who lost their lives fighting with Allied Forces from the nearby RAF Northolt base.

With Nigel Farage visiting Trump Tower after the US elections and Marine Le Pen appearing on the Andrew Marr politics show on the BBC, it seemed more important to attend the service than ever. 

Traditionally, Remembrance Sunday is the day on which we show gratitude in the UK to those who gave their lives so that we might live in peace today. The autumn sunshine and calm belied a tumultuous week.

This week we also remembered Armistice Day, Kristallnacht, the Berlin Wall and the Paris Massacres of just last year.

Bourne School Choir at Polish War Memorial

The local children's choir from Bourne Primary School sang a selection of hymns and the National Anthem. 

Their Choir Master and Head Teacher, Marek Maryniak sang the Polish National Anthem.

A series of poems were also read out. 




Morgan Farrell, a Year 6 pupil at the school, read his own reflective poem on war. It ended with the words:

Order of Service

'Poppy, poppy what do you tell?

Peace on Earth should grow, grow, grow'

The theme of peace was also picked up in the address by the Chaplain. He reminded us of the Jesus' words:

 'Blessed are the peacemakers'

What can an ordinary person do? How can we hope to influence the world? We start by loving and caring for each other in our communities and in our homes. 

Peace starts locally.

After the service, I spent some peaceful moments in the park alongside the war memorial.
Two signs explain the London Borough of Hillingdon's gratitude to the Polish Air Force in both English and Polish.

The Memorial Garden shows gratitude to the Polish Air Force