Ninety-four people are needed to stand up and honour the 94 fallen of the Heathrow Villages.
Harmondsworth wants to create a legacy to mark the centenary of the Great War by remembering its and its fellow villages’ soldiers at a special service this summer.
The Friends of the Great Barn group and other community groups have been busy organising an open-air service on the village green, to pay tribute to the 417 men from what is now known as Heathrow Villages who served their country – and the 94 who never returned.
The names of the dead are listed on a war memorial at St Mary's Church in High Street, Harmondsworth, and efforts are being made to find out their backgrounds and trace their descendants for the service on July 20.
The Lord Lieutenant of London, Sir David Brewer, will be guest of honour and will take the salute.
Enquiries have also been made to track down a wooden plaque with all 417 names that was taken from the church for cleaning a few years ago, and which was last seen in the Sipson Royal British Legion branch, which shut its doors in December 2012.
With St Mary's Church, the Great Barn and the whole village under direct threat from Heathrow's third runway proposal now before the Airports Commission, Veronica Rumsey, treasurer of the Friends of the Great Barn and one of the leader of the project, said the intention was to make history and create a legacy.
"Whether Harmondsworth stays or goes, we need to ensure that there is a record of what we did here, and people know that it is a beautiful place with a unique past," she said.
The service will include hymns and readings of First World War poetry, and following the service, an equestrian display from the Household Cavalry is planned. There will also be historic horse-drawn carts on display on Potter's Field off Moor Lane.
The British Airways Volunteer Band will be playing and several local businesses have already pledged cash, although more support is needed.
At the time of the Great War, Harmondsworth was a parish, part of Staines Rural District. It encompassed the villages of Harmondsworth, Sipson and Longford. It was largely agricultural, but still had a significant role to play in the war effort. Heath Row was another rural community, in fields to the south.
In an echo of what could befall Harmondsworth, it is no more, buried under the airport.
Now the service organisers want people from Harmondsworth, Sipson and Longford to represent the 94 men enshrined on the memorial, to stand up and read out a name each during the ceremony. Relatives of the men, however distant, would be most welcome.
Mrs Rumsey also wants to hear from anyone with boxes of photographs.
"There are generations of families that lived in this village, and we want people's old photos to put on display,” she said.
"We will do what we can to make it a good day and a fitting tribute to those soldiers. We also hope to raise the profile of the village and the barn."
To volunteer or offer sponsorship, email veronica.rumsey@btinternet.com, or call her on 07593 577367.
To sign up to read one of the names of the 94 fallen, look for the special registers in the various polling stations on May 22 in the villages, or email Mrs Rumsey.
