Remembrance services will be taking place across the borough during the next week, leading up to Remembrance Sunday on 11 November. Ealing will join other places across the country in lighting a memorial flame that evening, while you may notice three evocative, wire-framed statues denoting First World War soldiers. Other events are also planned.

While Remembrance is an annual, national commemoration, this year’s is made all the more poignant by the fact it will be the 100-year anniversary of the armistice of 1918 that signalled the end of the First World War. We have been running a series of stories of the impact of the war on our borough in our history section.

While many schools and churches will be marking it in their own ways, there are several major services due to take place.

Sunday, 4 November

Acton Hospital Remembrance Service at Acton Care Centre, 3pm. Attended by the mayor of Ealing, Councillor Tejinder Singh Dhami; the leader of the council, Councillor Julian Bell; Deputy Lieutenant Richard Kornicki and Greater London Assembly member Dr Onkar Sahota. Injured servicemen were cared for at Acton Hospital in Gunnersbury Lane following the First World War and it later became a living war memorial.

Sunday, 11 November

Service at Ealing War Memorial, Ealing Green in front of Pitzhanger Manor. Attended by the mayor of Ealing, Councillor Tejinder Singh Dhami; Deputy Lieutenant Richard Kornicki; deputy leader of the council, Councillor Yvonne Johnson; and Ealing Council chief executive, Paul Najsarek:

• 10.30am Parade will commence from outside Ealing Town Hall to Ealing Green (in front of Pitzhanger Manor) where wreaths will be laid at the memorial wall
• 11am Two-minute silence followed by Remembrance Service
• The Beacon of Light will be lit at 7pm by the mayor of Ealing and Deputy Lieutenant Kornicki. Flames of remembrance are being lit across the country in commemoration and remembrance of the 100-year anniversary of the end of the First Wolrd War in 1918 and the many millions killed or wounded. They will also commemorate the men and women on the home front who underpinned the war effort. The beacons symbolise the ‘light of hope’ that emerged from the darkness of war.

Service at Greenford War Memorial, Greenford Broadway. Attended by the deputy mayor of Ealing, Councillor Abdullah Gulaid; and leader of the council, Councillor Julian Bell:

• 10.30am Parade from the local branch of the Royal British Legion in Oldfield Lane, Greenford
• 11am Two-minute silence followed by Remembrance Service
• 7pm Service by the Salvation Army at the Royal British Legion, Oldfield Lane.

Service at Southall War Memorial at The Green. Attended by immediate past mayor, Councillor Simon Woodroofe and Southall councillors. A two-minute silence will be observed at 11am.  Those attending will then be invited to parade through King Street into St John’s Church in Church Road to a Remembrance Service.

‘There but not there’ statues

Three wire-framed statues will be placed to commemorate and remember those killed. They are part of the ‘There but not there’ art installation across the UK and each represent the figure of an Allied First World War infantry soldier, or ‘Tommie’. These silhouettes will be installed with plaques marking the sacrifice of the men and women, placed in the communities they left behind.  They will remain in place for the centenary year at Ealing Town Hall, Southall Town Hall and Acton Library.

For more details on ‘There but not there’ visit www.therebutnotthere.org.uk

‘Many names carved into the borough’s war memorials’

Council leader Julian Bell said: “When you look at the many, many names carved into the borough’s war memorials it brings home to you how much of a sacrifice they made on behalf of their country. Every year, Remembrance is a chance to honour and respect that sacrifice, both then and now. But with this being the centenary year of the end of the First World War, I feel the sacrifice made is even more poignant.”

You can read Councillor Bell’s blog post on the armistice centenary here.

Other events and talks

Remembering Wilfred Owen – Northolt Library, Wednesday, 14 November 10.30-12noon. Admission is free, no booking required. Gillian Spragg will talk about Wilfred Owen and show how Benjamin Britten incorporated his poems in ‘The War Requiem’.

Remembrance poppy crafts for five-eight year olds. Admission free:

• Southall Library, Saturday 3 November 2-3pm
• West Ealing Library, Saturday 3 November 2-3pm
• Northolt Leisure Library, Tuesday 6 November 4-5pm
• Greenford Library, Saturday 10 November 11am-12noon
• Northolt Leisure Library, Saturday 10 November 10.30-11.30am
• Wood End Library, Saturday 10 November 2-3pm.

Remembering the First World War – Gunnersbury Park Museum, Wednesday, 14 November 7-8.30pm. Two talks are available with tickets for both priced at £10. Booking is required through the museum website  www.visitgunnersbury.org for the following:

• Commemorating the end of the First World War, a talk by Dr Jonathan Oates, Ealing archivist
• Collecting Under Fire: Soldier-Scholars and the First World War, a talk by Julia Tubman, curator at Gunnersbury Park Museum.

The Ealing World War One Servicemen’s database – West Ealing Library, Thursday 29 November at 6pm. A talk by Dr Jonathan Oates, Ealing archivist. Tickets are £3 for members/£5 for non-members and advance booking is required. Call 020 3700 1065 or email westealinglibrary@ealing.gov.uk