Attendees of all ages moved by this poignant remembrance service, including The Mayor of Brent Cllr Lia Colacicco and Brent Councillors, Cllr Long and Cllr Hirani, youth, current serving personnel, AJEX members and veterans.
The AJEX National Chairman, Mike Bluestone thanked attendees for joining to commemorate and remember over 120,000 Jewish servicemen and women who served in World War One and Two. Bluestone re-enforced how so many from both world wars have no marked resting place and that AJEX always stand together and will always remember.
Bluestone also shared his personal connection with the importance of having the memorial, “My Great uncle has no known grave, Lance Corporal Jacob Albert, 2nd Battalion London Regiment, Service number 420773 died on Thursday 14 June 1917. He was 30 years of age. His name is mentioned at the Arras Memorial in France, but he has no known grave. We owe our fallen brothers and sisters the honour, the respect, the Kavod, of being here today”.
Rabbi Reuben Livingstone led the moving memorial service including a one-minute silence and saying Kaddish for the fallen; Standards were flown. During the ceremony a wreath were laid by Mr Bluestone, and Arthur Lawson MBE recited the Exhortation. After the ceremony Ron Shelley MBE, Vice President of AJEX JMA led a poetry reading and AJEX Education and Outreach Officer Paula Kitching spoke at the Commonwealth War Graves Plot on the importance of Remembering and what it means for us today. Attendees were then given the opportunity to place Magan Dovid Markers at the plot.
AJEX look forward to standing together with the community at The AJEX Annual Remembrance Parade and Ceremony at the Cenotaph on November 21st at 2pm. To book your ticket to parade visit www.ajex.org.uk
