Service of Remembrance 2010
On Saturday 13th November 2010 the residents of Addison Court and the Holy Trinity (Guildford) Housing Association hosted a Remembrance Service at the War Memorial
Prayers of Remembrance were said and the hymn "O God, our help in ages past" was sung
The service was led by Revd Jonathan Hedgecock, assistant curate at Holy Trinity church, Guildford. After prayers of remembrance, the two minute silence was preceded with the Last Post and ended with Reveille, played by Emmi Tingey, a music student at The University of Surrey.
The Last Post signalled the start of the two minute silence
After singing "O God, our help in ages past" and a reading from the New Testament, Revd Hedgecock gave a moving and thought-provoking reflection. He compared the sacrifice of the two Newman men, commemorated on the memorial, with the death of Acting Corporal David Barnsdale in Afghanistan, October 2010. Copies of a photograph that appeared in the Times newspaper were passed around. The photograph showed three colleagues of David Barnsdale sitting in an armoured vehicle moments after his death. The devastation and grief etched on the faces of the men in the photograph brought home the true horrors of War. It was easy to imagine the same raw emotion on the faces of the colleagues of the Newman brothers and those of all the men on the War Memorial, in the moments immediately after their deaths. David Barnsdale was described by his friends as a "great bloke" and Revd Hedgecock reflected how all the young men on the War Memorial, from ordinary families, formerly doing ordinary jobs, and cruelly killed in the prime of life, were all "great blokes".
Fred Newman helped by his great-grand-children lays a wreath to remember his father and uncle
After further prayers representatives of the local community came forward to lay wreaths, led by Fred Newman, son of Frederick Newman. Frederick Newman, a gardener before the War, was killed in 1916 by a bomb dropped from an enemy aircraft. At the time Frederick, a farrier sergeant with the Royal Field Artillery, was working at his forge behind the front-line. Local resident Jonny Murphy, a former soldier, then said the Kohima Epitath and everybody joined together in singing of the National Anthem.
A wreath from the Residents of Charlotteville next to that from Frederick Newman's son, two grand-children, eight great-grand-children and five great-great-grand-children also remembering their uncle, Arthur Newman
After the service tea and cake were served in the residents lounge at Addison Court. A poster display told the story of the men on the memorial and of the history of the area through two World Wars.
Fred Newman was born three months after his father was killed. He is a veteran of WW2. Fred served with the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment and was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940
After the service refreshments were served in the residents lounge of Addison Court. A poster display told the story of the men on the memorial and the history of the area during the two World Wars