Remembrance Day in Abingdon


After a service at St Helen’s Church, the uniformed organisations marched to the war memorial where many townspeople were waiting.

Abingdon Town Band were at the War Memorial and played Slaidburn as the uniformed organisations gathered.

Service sheets had been handed out by members of the Rotary Club so that everybody could join in the responses and the singing.

A member of the Royal British Legion said the exhortation: “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.”

Alison Rich of Abingdon Town Band then sounded the last post.

Two minutes of silence followed to remember the fallen.

There followed the laying of the wreaths as the band led the singing of the hymn “O God Our Help in Ages Past.’

The short service ended with The National Anthem.

There followed a march past the County Hall where dignitaries gathered,

including, on a platform, the Mayor, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, and a senior officer who received the salute.

Some people then viewed the wreaths. Three of them had been put there on Friday by local schools. There was also a wreath from visitors from the twin town of Argentan in France.

This is a video of the arrival at the war memorial, the sounding of the last post and a short extract from uniformed organisations marching by the County Hall.

Abingdon Abbotts – two minutes silence and new mural


At the Abingdon Town football ground this afternoon, the home team Abingdon Abbotts lined up before the game for a two minutes silence. The last post was played over the loudspeakers.

Many of the team have a military background, and the Oxford Graffiti Crew decorated the stand with a mural to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. There are plans for another larger graffiti along the front fence with a footballing theme.

There is a game most Saturdays, either the first team or the development team. The first team compete in the Oxfordshire Senior Football League. The club website and fixtures can be found at https://abingdonabbotts.wixsite.com/abingdon-abbotts-fc 

They still have some challenges after what happened to the previous owners. They are UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT and are looking for people’s support in football and in events promoting good causes like good mental health.

Armistice Day with some poppy displays around Abingdon


Abingdon marked Armistice Day with a two-minute silence at 11:00 GMT on 11 November to mark the end of World War One in 1918. The Mayor of Abingdon joined veterans and schoolchildren from Thameside School at the war memorial.

School children from Hawk Class at Kingfisher School have been learning about Remembrance Day and made a display of poppies and Acrostic poems that can be seen inside the Royal British Legion (RBL) HQ in Abingdon.

Also, inside the RBL HQ, somebody has made a poppy out of leftover enamel badges from 2014 to 2021.

Outside the RBL HQ is another display of poppies with two cutout sentries.
And the giant poppies are lit up behind the war memorial.

Mick Herron at Abingdon Library


Mick Herron was at Abingdon Library for a question and answer session about: his books, the spin-off TV series, and writing generally. The event had a sell-out audience and could have been sold out three times. Mick says that he likes to do events in libraries. He used libraries and read a lot when he was young and wants to support libraries for future readers.