THOUSANDS of people were standing shoulder to shoulder at Remembrance Sunday services to pay their respects to the brave men and women who have lost their lives in war.
Wreaths were laid at war memorials and a two-minute silence was observed at 11am three days ahead of the anniversary of the date when Germany signed an armistice agreement with the allied forces.
In Eastcote, more than 700 attended a parade, organised by the Eastcote branch of the Royal British Legion, which ended at the recently refurbished war memorial in Field End Road.
The Reverend Stephen Dando of St Lawrence Church, in Bridle Road, led a service during which there was a presentation by 4th Eastcote Scout group and a poem was read by a pupil from Haydon School.
A salute was taken by Wing Commander Caroline Purdom and there was a flypast by a helicopter from 32 (The Royal) Squadron, both of RAF Northolt.
Some 250 people braved the cold to attend a service at the war memorial in Green Lane, Northwood, where Alan Prue, president of Northwood Residents' Association, laid a wreath.
In Hayes, 500 people including scouts, brownies and sea cadets, crammed into St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, in Church Road, prior to a parade that started at the football ground in Kingshill Avenue.
More than 300 people including Councillor Shirley Harper-O'Neill, Mayor of Hillingdon, and John McDonnell MP attended a candle-lit vigil held at Cherry Lane Cemetery, in
Shepiston Lane. The story of the EMI bombing was told and tributes were paid to those interred in the war graves there.
A community monument of remembrance was unveiled during the ceremony, to symbolise the united battle being fought to preserve the cemetery against the threat of expansion.
Bagpipes and bugles sounded as candles were lit to remember the fallen soldiers of the two world wars.
Natasha La Mothe, the chairwoman of CLAD (Cherry Lane Against Development), said: "It was a very moving, emotional evening, and to mark the day with a permanent monument in the grounds means that it will become a centrepiece for remembrance and reflection for years to come."
A service at St John the Baptist Church in Royal Lane, Hillingdon, was equally well attended. A young soldier who had served in Afghanistan laid one of 15 wreaths at the memorial in the churchyard, paying tribute to his comrades who had not been so fortunate.
Two services took place at St Mary's in Harefield, with almost 300 people attending. A wreath-laying ceremony took place at the Anzac cemetery in the churchyard and, instead of a sermon, the Reverend Andrew Gandon inter-viewed Alan Lacy, an RAF pilot during
the Second World War, about his memories of taking to the skies in a Sunderland Flying Boat.
Many also attended a parade from Ruislip station car park and along the High Street to the war memorial in Eastcote Road. Members of West Ruislip Sea Cadets were also present at a parade in Pinner.
In Uxbridge, 150 people from many of the churches in the area attended a service led by RAF Uxbridge and The Salvation Army, followed by a wreathlaying at the Peace Memorial.
Almost 300 people were at the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin in Church Street, Rickmansworth, to hear Deacon Phil Osborne poem read the poem In Afghan Fields, inspired by In Flanders Fields, penned by First World War poet John McCrae. More than a dozen wreaths were laid at the war memorial in the church grounds.
All Saints Church in Croxley Green hosted a service on behalf of all the churches in the area, with more than 200 people in attendance, including the uniformed organisations.
Following prayers, hymns and readings, the congregation enjoyed music from the church choir, joined by their counterparts from St Oswald's Church, in Malvern Way.
The Reverend Mary Kingsley said: "It was good to see people of all ages turning up. It shows that the important meaning of Remembrance Sunday has not been lost on the young."
