Church Service Turns Out The Lights To Mark Great War Centenary

Published on: 5 Aug, 2014
Updated on: 5 Aug, 2014

The Rev’d Rod Pierce led the service, An Act of Commemoration for Centenary of Declaration of War, at Holy Trinity Church, Guildford, on Monday evening, August 4.

The centenary of the start of the First World War was commemorated in a moving and thought provoking service in Holy Trinity church last night (Monday, August 4), attended by around 40 people.

A candle burns in Holy Trinity Church at the memorial to The Queen’s Regiment.

The theme of the church service was Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey’s famous quotation: “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.” Candles and lights were put out periodically during the service until only one candle was left to be extinguished at 11pm precisely, one hundred years to the minute after war was declared on Germany by Britain in 1914.

The colours of The Queen’s Regiment in Holy Trinity Church. Nearly 8,000 men from the regiment died during the First World War.

The Rev’d Rod Pierce, a member of the clerical team at Holy Trinity and St Mary’s Churches, conducted the service which comprised a sequence of prayers, poems and readings. These included Rupert Brooke’s poem, “The Soldier”, a summary of events leading up to the outbreak of hostilities and letters and contemporary personal accounts, including one written by Rev’d Pierce’s own grandfather who was among the hundreds who joined up in Guildford soon after war was declared”.

The service was suitably overlooked by the laid up colours and permanent memorial to all those from our local regiment, at the time called The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), who died in the conflict, nearly 500 of whom came from Guildford.