WHITEHILL and Bordon residents came together last week to commemorate Armistice Day.

The town’s annual Service of Remembrance, held at the war memorial in Camp Road, saw the traditional wreath laying, hymns, sermons and a two-minute silence. Conducted by the Rev Wendy Mallas, the event welcomed hundreds of members of public, councillors and military personnel, past and present, who paid tribute to those who have fallen in combat during the two world wars and subsequent conflicts.

Elsewhere in the town, people gathered for a service outside the Forest Community Centre, at the Cathedral of Colour - a temporary instalment built to mark the day.

This year’s wreath laying at the war memorial marked the end of an era as, having organised the event since its inception, Steve Johnson stood down from the helm.

Mr Johnson was instrumental in the construction of the town’s memorial, having suggested it back in 1997 when chairing a Royal British Legion meeting, and has been on hand every year since it was unveiled in 2003.

From next year onwards, Whitehill Town Council will organise the annual event, and its maiden 2018 service will mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

“We were very pleased that approximately 200 people supported the event, including the former Bordon Garrison Commander Col (Retd) Mike Pendlington and Lt Col (Retd) Mike Tizard, chief executive to the REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) Charity and East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds,” town-council clerk Andrea Mann told the Bordon Herald.

“Councillors thanked everyone who had helped with the organisation and everyone who turned up to pay their respects.

“The service was organised on Friday, November 10, so that local schoolchildren could lay crosses.

“Despite the memorial site being surrounded by development and road closures, councils, development organisations and contractors all worked together to ensure the service wasn’t disrupted.”

In the weeks leading up to Armistice, people across Whitehill and Bordon had been invited to write the names of those they wished to remember on pieces of coloured acetate.

These were then joined together, along with sleigh bells, to create, what was described as, a “spectacle of colour and sound” near the Forest Centre.

The Forest Community Centre’s Michael Rutland organised the Cathedral of Colour, which featured more than 1,400 pieces of coloured acetate along with drawings provided by children from Woodlea Primary School in Whitehill.

“Around 400 pieces of acetate have been written on and have names of loved ones and messages,” Mr Rutland said. “More than 100 people came on the Friday to a service conducted by Pastor Dave Berry, of the Jubilee Church, including pupils from Woodlea; and children, staff and parents from Forest Bears Pre-School, Tootsies Nursery and Forest Monkeys Parent and Toddler Group.

“The service was dignified and afterwards it was great to see the way in which both adults and children alike continued to engage with this spectacle of colour. On Saturday, due to the rain, a crowd gathered at nearby St Mark’s Church and the Mayor of Whitehill Colin Leach placed a strip of acetates and poppies onto a cross.”

Mr Rutland thanked Coomers (in Woolmer Way) for donating the wood and Ian Garforth who helped set up the framework.

This year’s Remembrance Day Sunday Service at St Mark’s Church commemorated the centenary of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps - the first time women were formally fully enrolled in the UK’s Armed Forces – as well as women’s service in the British Armed Forces ever since.

The YEM Theatre School (Farnborough) performed a dance drama, called Keeping the Home Fires Burning, written and directed by Hilary Bishop. It celebrated the contribution to both world wars made by women who did not join the armed forces, but served in other ways, providing vital support. Just before 11am the congregation moved outside into the Events Space near the Forest Community Centre.