Over the past 12 months, many of you may have seen in the press some of the WWI commemoration installations that have been taking place across the country. Earlier this year, on behalf of the church we applied for a grant from the There But Not There 2018 Armistice project to fund our own installation. Following the widespread acclaim of the placing of 51 transparent seated military figures in Penshurst Church over Remembrance 2016, the Armed Forces Covenant Fund is supporting the There But Not There project to fund the costs of similar installations for schools, places of worship and charities across the country. As a recipient of such a grant, it means that St Lawrence Church is able to display 10 of these transparent silhouettes in church over the Armistice weekend this year. The aim of the project is to create representative figures for those names on local war memorials across the country, to raise awareness of the work of the Armed Forces and to also create a time for reflection, as part of the centenary commemoration of the end of the First World War.

You will see these figures seated amongst the pews when you come into church on Armistice Sunday. They will be part of a wider community project, involving St Lawrence School, St Lawrence Pre-School and the St Lawrence Brownie Pack as well as our church and local residents. We will be opening the church on Saturday morning (10th), where we hope to attribute names and stories to some of the silhouettes through displays of local history and research, together with some WW1 items and photographs. Please do come along for a coffee from 10am – 12pm. If you have any information or family history you would like to be included in the display, please contact Sally Rees on sallyanne.rees@icloud.com or 07900 167430.