Guildford Borough Remembers the Cost of Conflict in Town and Village

Published on: 12 Nov, 2017
Updated on: 12 Nov, 2017

Anne Milton MP and James Whiteman, GBC managing director lay wreaths

The cost of conflict was remembered across the borough today in ceremonies around the numerous war memorials in town and village.

In Guildford, the traditional service was conducted in Holy Trinity Church followed by a procession to the war memorial in the Castle Grounds.

The procession, led by the Friary Band, comes up Tunsgate heading for the Castle Grounds.

Music was played by the Friary Band including Last Post which commenced a two-minute silence.

The mayor and councillors remember. Back row: Cllrs Mike Hurdle, Nils Christiansen, David Wright, James Walsh. Centre: Cllrs Gillian Harwood, Nikki Nelson Smith. Front: The Mayor, Cllr Nigel Manning and Col (retired) Patrick Crowley, who attended St Peter’s School.

Various contingents from the army, cadet detachments, Scouts, Guides, the British Red Cross, St John Ambulance and others, joined Guildford’s MP Anne Milton, the Mayor of Guildford, Nigel Manning and other council members and representatives to remember the town’s war dead while several hundred townsfolk looked on.

Numerous contingents took part in the traditional remembrance ceremony in the Castle Grounds.

One former soldier looking on was James Edwards-Longhurst, who now lives in Guildford town centre. He served in the Blues & Royals for nine years, including a tour of Afghanistan. He said: “A good friend of mine was killed by an IED (improvised explosive device) in the tour before mine but we lost two from the regiment on the tour I was on too and quite a number were seriously injured, mostly by IEDs.”

“I didn’t used to come to the ceremonies when I first left the army but then I thought that I should rekindle the torch, so to speak, pay my respects and join in with the old traditions.”

James Edwards-Longhurst points to the name of his ancestor on the Guildford War Memorial, a decorated casualty of the First World War.

Then James revealed a closer link to Guildford’s war memorial, “My great, great uncle James Longworth was killed in the First World War and is listed here on the monument. He was a Lance Corporal in the Machine Gun Corps and won the Military Medal for rescuing army horses under machine gun fire.”

On Saturday, organisers of the Ripley Farmers’ Market rang a bell to mark the start of the well-observed two-minute silence. Photo Chris Dick

In Effingham, Rev’d Mandy MacVean held a service of remembrance at St Lawrence Church. Parish Council Chairman Arnold Pindar and others laid wreaths at a solemn ceremony. Photo Chris Dick.

Reports from other ceremonies will be added later, please check back. If you have a photo of any other ceremony that took place within Guildford borough, please send it, complete with explanatory caption, to: guildford.dragon@gmail.com.