The Lord Mayor of Oxford, in partnership with the Oxford City branch of the Royal British Legion, is set to host a Remembrance Sunday Service at the War Memorial in St Giles’ on Sunday, 13 November 2022.
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.
Last year’s Remembrance Sunday was especially significant as it marks the centenary of the Royal British Legion. The parade was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The Lord Mayor of Oxford, Councillor James Fry, will be joined by military units, uniformed organisations, community groups, civic dignitaries, residents and visitors from across the county to mark Remembrance Sunday.
Representatives from the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, Oxfordshire County Council, Thames Valley Police, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue, and Help for Heroes will be in attendance.
Dignitaries are also expected from Oxford’s twin cities of Grenoble, Leiden, Bonn, and Wrocław.
Military units, organisations and community groups will gather at 10.00am at the junction of Beaumont Street and St Giles’. They will then march up St Giles’ from 10.30am and be followed by the civic procession that will depart from St John’s College at 10.40am.
The service will start at 10.45am, with a two-minute silence at 11.00am.
If members of the public require British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation, the interpreter will be located at the junction of St Giles’ and Woodstock Road to the west of the dais.
Oxford Spires Scouts will be on hand to distribute orders of service and sell poppies, and members of the public are welcome to put tributes on the monument before the service.
The order of service is:
- Welcome: Councillor James Fry, Lord Mayor of Oxford, and The Revd Anthony Buckley, City Rector
- Hymn: Abide with me
- Act of Penitence: The Revd Anthony Buckley, City Rector
- Messages of Remembrance from Oxford’s faith leaders
- The Flowers of the Forest: a lament by Scott Weston
- Exhortation and Kohima: To be read by a representative of the Royal British Legion and Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet
- Act of Remembrance: Representative from the Royal British Legion Oxford City Branch
- The Last Post, the Great Silence and the Reveille: Phil King, Senior Bugle Major, Bugles and Drums Detachment Oxfordshire (Rifles) Battalion ACF
- Hymn: O God, our help in ages past
- Act of Commitment: Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Brian Buchan Hymn: The Lord is my shepherd
- Intercessions: Read by a student
- The Lord’s Prayer: The Revd Anthony Buckley, City Rector
- The Blessing: The Revd Anthony Buckley, City Rector
- The National Anthem
Expect road closures and parking suspension to be in place from 12.01am to 2.00pm on Sunday, 13 November, as follows:
- St Giles’ will be closed. Parking will be suspended during the Remembrance Sunday event.
- The pavement on Banbury Road, opposite the war memorial, will be closed. Members of the public are advised to follow pedestrian diversions or use Woodstock Road.
- Banbury Road from its junction with Parks Road to its junction with St Giles’.
- Beaumont Street from its junction with St John Street to its junction with St Giles’.
- Keble Road.
- Magdalen Street East and West.
Councillor James Fry, The Lord Mayor of Oxford, said: “Whilst we observe Remembrance Sunday every year, the pursuit of peace is constant, and we must continue to come together as a city and as a country to work for a more peaceful future for all.”
Armistice Day
There will be a service marking Armistice Day on Friday, 11 November, starting at 10.55am, on the landing area at the top of the stairs in Oxford Town Hall. The service will be led by the Lord Mayor of Oxford, and all are welcome to attend. There will be a two-minute silence at 11am.
