Remembering, Part 2

In the Chalke Valley, the worship for Remembrance Sunday was put together by the clergy team, with Archdeacon Alan Jeans providing the sermon and Major General Ashley Truluck, High Sheriff of Wiltshire, leading The Act of Commitment.

The service can be viewed by clicking here.

Chirton Primary School made clay poppies and celebrated Covid-safely together, producing a commemorate clip for social media, commenting,

"From VE celebrations earlier this year to designing, creating handmade clay poppies in the summer and our poignant Rembrance service, we stand proudly together, united as the little school with the biggest of hearts."

View footage here.

The Act of Remembrance at Chapmanslade War Memorial was held with only a small number of people present. As a result, the team created a pre-recorded video in advance, to view on YouTube. The live service, held at 11.00am on Sunday 8th November, was even shorter and simpler than the video itself, which forms a lasting record.

View the pre-recorded service here.

In Corsley, the Act of Remembrance went ahead at 10.50am on Sunday 8th on the Memorial Field as planned, but with only a small number of invited representatives, along with the ministers.

The Revd Gay Maynard said beforehand:

"This is in accordance with government guidelines for everyone’s safety. I realise that this will cause some disappointment for which I apologise.

"For those attending, don’t forget to bring an umbrella!"

Westbury Town Council shared a pre-recorded video on its Facebook page, and the Revd Rebecca Harris also recorded a short Act of Remembrance for Facebook and YouTube.

View it on YouTube here.

Meanwhile, Westbury Leigh Primary School has had a month of Remembrance.

Mrs Pearce, Collective Worship Lead explained:

“This year like most things, it was going to be a little bit different. The children showed great respect and sincerity on this poignant day and created some heartfelt prayers, beautiful poems, striking poppies and pieces of artwork to show their gratitude for all those who have died in service for their country. As a whole school in our class bubbles we watched Winston Churchill’s victory speech before reflecting during the 2 minutes silence.”

Isabella and Charli from Year 6 said “Even though it was a victory speech it made us realise what that time was really like! And what everyone had gone through.”

In a true team effort, the parish of Whitton produced a special recorded service to honour the fallen from all 6 of its villages. Film clips of different parts of the service were made by clergy and various volunteers from churches and communities, the rolls of honoured were collated, an ensemble of Aldbourne Band players made a special video of Elgar’s Nimrod and The National Anthem, and all in strict compliance with all the rules.

Team Vicar Sue Rodd said:

“The fact that we could decide on Sunday to make such a complex video from scratch, and have it all put together for the following Sunday, with all the bits in place, is a real demonstration of what we can do when we come together with a shared purpose to serve our villages!"

There were short outdoor commemorations at 5 churches or war memorials, with 2 live-streamed on Facebook and shared to other community Facebook pages.

Wendy Beattie, activities coordinator for Aldbourne Nursing Home commented:

"The residents of ANH are grateful to all involved in making this happen today- we watched it in the safety of the home - thank you”.
Another viewer simply wrote “WOW Brilliant”.

View footage here.