HARROW will remember its fighter pilots in a special church ceremony.
The Battle of Britain memorial service will be at St John Church, in Rectory Lane, Stanmore, on September 14.
The service was an annual fixture until last year, when the sale of Bentley Priory led previous mayor councillor Jean Lammiman to decide to forego the event, which celebrates the actions of RAF fighter pilots who died in the historic battle in 1940.
New mayor of Harrow councillor John Nickolay (Conservative), who served in the RAF, made reinstating the ceremony one of his first tasks.
He said: "There has been a lot of work going into it to get it up and running.
"It will be a tribute to those to whom we owe so much."
The rector of the church, Reverend Alison Christian, will be conducting the service.
She said: "It will be a thanksgiving service to thank the people who died for us and remember them and also for airmen currently overseas."
The ceremony will coincide with a special four-day event, in which Bentley Priory will open its doors as part of the Civic Trust Heritage open days.
The day will include children's trails and an art sale as well as an opportunity to explore the grounds and meet veterans.
Leader of the Labour party councillor Bill Stephenson helped campaign for the church service to be reinstated.
He said: "I was amazed to find the Civic Trust and the Battle of Britain Trust were having this open day. I think this is a great opportunity to see Bentley Priory before it is demolished.
"Harrow is the one place we should continue to have a service as we have Bentley Priory."
For more information visit www.heritageopendays.org
