Abingdon Homebase Staff Face Uncertainty as company falls into administration

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Homebase in Abingdon is facing an uncertain future. The current store opened three years ago after the Fairacres phase 2 redevelopment, and replaced an older Homebase at the same location.

The company has gone into administration, putting 2,000 jobs at risk. 70 stores have been sold, and 49 will continue to operate while negotiations with potential buyers are ongoing.

It’s unclear whether the Abingdon store is among the 70 sold or the 49 with a less certain future. Staff have been put on notice that their jobs are at risk of redundancy, and are facing a worrying time just before Christmas.

Armistice Day – NO MORE WAR

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Yesterday, the Abingdon Peace Group held a vigil at the war memorial, marking Armistice Day, and wearing white poppies. They were joined by three visitors from Abingdon’s twin town, Argentan in France.

Sally Reynolds, from Abingdon Peace Group, said their Banner – NO MORE WAR – ‘represents the sentiment we have in common with veterans of all wars – that war is a catastrophic event and there are no more ardent peacemakers than those who have experienced it.’

Armistice Day – 2 minute silence

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On Monday, 11 November 2024, at 11 am, people gathered at the War Memorial for a two-minute silence to mark Armistice Day. This silence began with the Town Crier ringing a bell and ended with a veteran reciting the verse:

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”

The crowd around the memorial, joined by others on the pavement across the road, responded, “We will remember them.”

Among those gathered was a class from Thameside School, continuing a tradition of attending for nearly a decade.

We Will Remember Them

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The annual Poppy Appeal in Abingdon, organised by the Royal British Legion, is part of a nationwide campaign to raise funds supporting veterans and their families. The donations collected through the appeal provide essential services, including financial aid, housing, care, and mental health support.

The poppy serves as a symbol of the annual act of remembrance.

The Royal British Legion’s Abingdon headquarters, located at the club on Spring Road, serves as the hub of local Poppy Appeal.

Inside the club, students from Kingfisher School have made a display inspired by the lines, ‘In Flanders fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row.’

Businesses across Abingdon have joined in, with poppy displays in honour of Remembrance Day.

The town’s churches also have poppy displays. In St Helen’s, some poppies are by a memorial board that lists the names of Abingdon residents who served and gave their lives in WWI and WWII.

The windowsills of Our Lady and St Edmund have poppies and wheat. The church yard has some war graves, that have been decorated with wooden crosses with poppies, and wooden crosses with a gold medal of valour.

This morning, the community gathered in large numbers at Abingdon’s War Memorial for a service of remembrance. Representatives from various organisations laid wreaths with poppies, honouring the memory of those who served.

Several of Abingdon’s war graves have been decorated to mark the occasion. The poppy wreath by six RAF graves in Spring Road Cemetery dates from a previous year and may get replaced. It commemorates the young airmen:
J. Ralph – Pilot (30th September 1939, Age 19)
C.N. Robinson – Pilot Officer (18th December 1939)
M.H. Costello – Wireless Operator (8th April 1940)
H.B. Hunter – Air Gunner (12th March 1940, Age 19)
J.M. Davies – Pilot Officer (8th April 1940)
H.B. Bennett – Aircraftman (10th June 1940, Age 23)