Remembrance Sunday is one of those events like Christmas Easter and Harvest which shows Itchen Valley at its best – most of the community turns out – whatever denomination they might belong to – in an act of public worship.

We carried out acts of remembrance at Easton, Martyr Worthy, Itchen Abbas war memorials, but the principal act of remembrance this year was in Avington and we held our principal Remembrance Day service at St Mary’s.

Here are some photographs:

Around 100 of us gathered for the Act of Remembrance at the Avington War Memorial

Admiral John Lang commands the parade of the Royal British Legion by the war memorial and reads the names of those from Avington who were lost in the First and Second World War.

The RBL form up for the march down the hill to St Mary’s..no bowler hats this year..

The Rector reads the Kohima Epitaph and the wreaths are laid

A queue forms outside St Mary’s for the Remembrance Service

St Mary’s built in the late eighteenth century ….will have been the place of worship for many of those who later went to fight in the two world wars.

Our service of remembrance was led by Revd Amanda Denniss included O Valiant Hearts, O God our help in ages past, Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son, and the National Anthem.  Revd Tim Humphrey (formerly of St Barnabas Kensington) preached on John 15:13 ‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’.  Jesus describes friendship as never letting you down and always letting you in and he, the creator of the universe, calls us friends! Amazing.

Alex Pease