Oxford to mark Remembrance Sunday online

Remembrance Sunday takes place on the second Sunday in November and honours those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to secure and protect our freedom.

It is normally marked in Oxford with a military parade and remembrance service at the War Memorial in St Giles’. Hundreds of people normally attend and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with current and former service personnel.

This year Oxford City Council in partnership with the Oxford City branch of the Royal British Legion has decided to cancel the event due to the coronavirus pandemic and the risk to public health, particularly the health of the elderly veterans.

Instead, Oxford City Council has produced an online Remembrance Service in partnership with the Oxford City branch of the Royal British Legion to honor the day.

The City Council will host the pre-recorded service on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube from just before 10.50am on Sunday (8 November 2020).

The order of service is:

• Welcome: Councillor Craig Simmons, Lord Mayor of Oxford
• Act of Penitence: The Revd Anthony Buckley, City Rector
• Messages of Remembrance from Oxford’s faith leaders:
  • Penny Faust, Oxford Jewish Community
  • Jawaid Malik JP, Oxford Muslim Community
  • Chinta Kallie, Oxford Hindu Community
  • Gurdip Singh Saini, Oxford Sikh Community
  • John White, Oxford Humanist Community
• Act of Remembrance: Mike Henderson, President of the Oxford City branch of the Royal British Legion
• The Last Post, the Great Silence and the Reveille Phil King, Senior Bugle Major 
• Act of Commitment: Tim Stevenson OBE, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
• The Lord’s Prayer: The Revd Anthony Buckley, City Rector
• The Blessing: The Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, The Bishop of Oxford
• The National Anthem: Ben Davies, St Michael at the North Gate Church

People are also being encouraged to stand on their doorsteps to observe the two-minute silence at 11am.

"Holding Remembrance Day online is a necessity but also an opportunity to be more inclusive. We hope to be joined by many more people from our twin towns and veterans who would otherwise be unable to attend.  Though the ceremonial aspects are diminished it is important that we still commemorate and honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up their future for our peace; men and women, those who died and those who suffered a living hell, soldiers and civilians, people of all nations, all ages, all genders, all faiths and none. And lasting peace has never been more necessary than now when the world needs to come together to fight the common threat posed by the coronavirus and climate change.”

Councillor Craig Simmons, the Lord Mayor of Oxford