Centenary Armistice Marked in Remembrance Service in Lisburn
November 9, 2018
A community joined together today at the Royal British Legion’s Remembrance Service in Lisburn as the centenary of the end of the First World War was commemorated.
A two-minute silence was observed and wreaths were laid in memory of the fallen at the Lisburn War Memorial.
The Lord Lieutenant for Co Antrim Mrs Joan Christie CVO OBE stood with the Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Councillor Uel Mackin; Mr Raymond Corbett, Royal British Legion President; Mr Gordon Rogan, Royal British Legion Chairman and members of the Lisburn branch of the Royal British Legion with members of the Hawthorne family in attendance, who came in memory of brothers Albert Hawthorne and Thomas Hawthorne, who lost their lives in World War 1. Albert was killed in action at Messines in the battle of Passchendaele in 1918 and Thomas was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
The Council inscribed their names on the War Memorial at Castle Gardens as a lasting legacy and in memory of their service. It also added names of the fallen in the First and Second World Wars to its War Memorial in Hillsborough. The names of James Wilson who was killed in action in France in 1917 and Thomas Graham who died while serving with the Merchant Navy on the HMS Hurworth which was hit by a mine in the Agean Sea in 1943 were inscribed; and family members of the men attended a church service held in Hillsborough on Sunday morning. The names of James Bell and Trevor Bell were added to the Moira War Memorial and family members attended a church service in Moira. James Bell died in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and Trevor Bell was killed in an ambush in1967 during the uprising against British Crown forces in the former colony of Aden (now part of Yemen).
The Mayor said: “At this very special Armistice Centenary, we remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. I am honoured to welcome families who came to Remembrance Services across our council area; and whose family members’ names will forever be on the area’s War Memorials. It’s an emotional time for the families and our thoughts are with them. It is important that we remember the many people who have lost their lives in war and we must never forget this sacrifice.
“We think too of all the people who have or who are currently serving in the Armed Forces; men and women, at home or far away, and of their families on this most poignant day.”
Chief Executive Mr David Burns accompanied the Mayor and Lord Lieutenant to the Service. He said: “We stood together and remembered the sacrifice and loss of life from the four years of World War 1, and 100 years since the Armistice, which marked the end of the War. We thought of the many people and of how so many lives were affected and changed forever during this period in our history.
“I would like to express my appreciation to everyone who came to and was part of this very moving Remembrance Service. I would like to thank the Reverend Dark, Reverend Brackenridge, Reverend Dr. Francis MBE CF and the Very Reverend McCaughan, who led us in prayer and the local schoolchildren who participated by placing their crosses at the War Memorial. The Council is very appreciative to the Lisburn branch of the Royal British Legion for its work and efforts to have made this Centenary Remembrance Service so meaningful.”
