Chelsea did itself proud during Remembrance Sunday and the days leading up to the nation’s day of reflection for the heroes who fought and paid the “ultimate price”.

Commemorative events were held in churches and at war memorials across the area and in all corners of the Royal borough.

Editor Rob McGibbon laid a wreath on behalf of The Chelsea Citizen and its readers during the commemoration service at the war memorial in Sloane Square. In his pocket he carried two medals from ancestors who fought in the world wars – the Military Medal awarded to his great-grandfather Hugh McGibbon for gallantry in France during WW1, and a medal belonging to his grandfather Albert Ross for action in WW2.

The Citizen’s wreath bore the message: ‘In everlasting memory of the brave who gave their lives for our freedom. Inspire the young to Never Forget’.

Father Michael Robinson, rector of Holy Trinity in Sloane Street, led a selection of dignitaries and their guests, along with esteemed members of the church, in a procession from the church to Sloane Square. There, they were joined by a large crowd for readings, prayers and hymns.

The congregation sang I Vow to Thee My Country and The Affirmation was read by Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant Mark Smith.  A lone bugler played the Last Post, which was followed by two minutes of reflective silence. After the Lord’s Prayer and the blessing, the event was concluded with the National Anthem.

Following the wreath laying, the group of VIPs – which included Deputy Mayor Cllr Aaron Areti, representatives of the police and fire service, Louise Ireland DL, the Ambassadors of both Denmark and Iceland, Mr Hugh Seaborn, CEO of Cadogan Estates, Dr James Thompson, Chairman of the Chelsea Society, and Miss McKayla Igere, a young pupil of Holy Trinity School – processed back to the church where Father Robinson gave an emotive and poignant service to a packed church.

The night before Remembrance Sunday, Chelsea Football Club held a particularly well choreographed sequence of symbolic gestures to mark the occasion before kick off at the match against Wolves.

Four huge banners were unfolded in the stadium with messages of support for the heroes of the great wars. There was even a giant one of a Chelsea Pensioner, which was captured on video for The Citizen’s Instagram. The Last Post was played to a hushed crowd of around 40,000+ spectators.

One football fan said: ‘This is the club’s way of showing everyone that they care. They certainly did that tonight. Back of the net!’

See below for details about remembrance Cremorne Gardens

 

Editor’s Note:

It was disappointing to discover on Remembrance Sunday that Sloane Square was already over-run by the building of the “Christmas Winter Village”. Cadogan Estates had pressed on with the works in preparation for the big switching on of the King’s Road and Sloane Street lights, scheduled for 14th November.

As a consequence, the war memorial was somewhat overshadowed. The wreath laying party had to file through a narrow gap alongside the building site, and was then squashed up against the metal construction barriers behind a wooden festival hut. The scores of onlookers, who were there to honour The Fallen, were pushed to the eastern edge of the square by the road. 

It would be more respectful if there could be better planning next year and give over the entirety of Sloane Square – as it always has been across the decades – to Remembrance Sunday. Surely, the preparations for the festival of Christmas commerce can wait a day or so longer. RM

 

 

Rob McGibbon adds…

Only three stand-up citizens attended RBKC’s war memorial in Cremorne Gardens on Armistice Day (two locals and The Citizen’s cub reporter). The three of us held two minutes silence on the stroke of 11am.

As the silence ticked by, a lone robin landed on the paving slabs in front of the wall plaque, which is there in honour of council workers who died during the two wars. For the less “spiritual” amongst us, it should be noted that a helpful gardener had just blown the leaves to clear the area.

One of the attendees was a resident from Cremorne Estate. She laid a wreath in memory of her uncle, Private Hudson, who was killed in a “friendly fire” incident during World War 2. Mr Hudson, who lived in Beaufort Street and worked for the council, is buried in Gibraltar. The lady’s mother had steadfastly laid a wreath at the memorial for decades to remember her brother. Since her death, the daughter is carrying on the tradition.

It was revealed that RBKC council always provided a wreath for Cremorne Gardens, but that this stopped some years ago. The Citizen contacted RBKC and received the helpful reply below. It would be good if a service of some kind could begin again at Cremorne.

A RBKC spokesperson said:  ‘We have a ceremony outside Kensington Town Hall every year to mark Armistice Day and remember residents and staff who lost their lives in both world wars. In addition to this we hold simultaneous ceremonies in Chelsea and Kensington with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor attending on Remembrance Sunday every year.

‘We have not been asked to provide a wreath at Cremorne Gardens for many years and are not aware of any event or ceremony at this particular memorial. We would be happy to look at providing a wreath in the future if a memorial event was to take place in Cremorne Gardens and an event organiser was to contact the Mayor’s office.’