Wilton Parish News AUTUMN Contacts:

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1 Wilton Parish News AUTUMN 2018 Welcome to our Autumn issue - and a few things coming up! In September we celebrate the Feast of St. Edith of Wilton on Sunday 16th September. Archdeacon Alan Jeans will lead our service and at our 3pm Mayor s Sunday service we will welcome and offer prayers for our Mayor and Councillors, and also Richard Boase, the new Headteacher of Wilton Church of England Primary School. Then it s Harvest Festival on Sunday, 23rd September. As usual we welcome gifts of tinned/non-perishable food for donation to the Trussell Trust Foodbank and any fruit will be given to Alabaré Christian Care. 7th October sees the Parish Church s 173rd birthday (see back page for services) And on Sunday 28th October, the Ven. Stephen Robbins, former Chaplain-General to the British Army - will lead and preach at our service. On Sunday 4th November our All Souls Service provides an opportunity to remember our loved ones who have died, and on Sunday 11th the annual Service of Remembrance begins at the earlier time of 10.30am (and 3pm at Netherhampton). St Catherine s, Netherhampton celebrate their Patron Saint on Sunday 25th, with a special Thanksgiving Service at 3pm. Contacts: Rector: The Revd Mark Wood, Tel (not Fridays) rectorwilton@gmail.com Parish Secretary: Mrs. Christine Matthews Tel wiltonpcc@btinternet.com Mondays 11-12: Wednesdays and Fridays 10-12

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3 What s on? CONFIRMATIONS 2018 Youth Choir Our new choir begins rehearsals in September, under the direction of Andrew Hanley, our Director of Youth Music. There will be two rehearsals each month, on Sunday mornings (from ) and, when ready, the choir will sing in church on the first Sunday of each month (10am rehearsal and service finish by 11.45) If your child (8 16) would like to be involved, please contact the Rector, or Parish Secretary, for further information. (Contact details on front cover) Preparation for Confirmation - will begin in October, with sessions for young people (age 11+) and for adults. If you have been baptized (recently or some time ago) and would like to think further about your Christian faith and perhaps go on to be Confirmed by the Bishop please contact the Rector, Revd. Mark Wood, about it. Your Parish needs you! Cyclists, walkers, and riders are all welcome to participate in the annual Ride and Stride - visiting as many churches as possible - with sponsorship, to raise money for the Historic Churches Trust, or just for fun! If you would like to join in, or to sponsor one of the team, please contact your Parish Rep. Tim Robertson or tjwrobertson@aol.com 3

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5 Ramblings from the Rectory Just outside Frome, in Somerset, stands the little church of St Katherine, East Woodlands - its churchyard surrounded by tall trees and the attendant birdsong. Among the graves there is one pale stone which, in its simplicity, is not unlike the Commonwealth gravestones which commemorate our War Dead. It has no carved cross or regiment, however, just a simple, childish tractor - beneath which appears a name and the dates This is the grave of Patrick, a pupil of mine at a nearby school, killed quite suddenly in a car accident just 3 days before Christmas. I remember that detail because it was also 3 days before the birth of our own first child. And it was the stark contrast between the devastating loss experienced by Patrick s father (also called Mark) and my own joy and relief at a safe arrival, that led me finally to decide that just being a teacher was not enough, and so began the journey to ordained ministry. Whenever a young life is cut short, there is always a lingering sense that it s just not right. For everything there is a time and a season, says Scripture: and we want to answer back - well, that time isn t now, is it?! How utterly bewildering, then, the huge losses of 100 years ago must have seemed to those who survived the Great War: so many lives blotted out before they d had chance to reach maturity, let alone to fulfil whatever future God had intended for them. Experiences like these remind us just how precious and fragile life is: they teach us to live for the moment, rather than fretting about the future we can t yet see, and also to make sure we really appreciate all those other people whose lives touch our own. 100 years on and, to most of us, the inscriptions on the white Commonwealth graves of WW1 are just names: we all know something of their story, but have no sense of personal loss - we feel no direct connection with our own lives. And yet, each of those names signifies a unique and precious life cut short, and many other lives devastated by their loss. Living at a time of national and international tensions, we should perhaps remember 1914 and the ease with which the world sleepwalked into bloody conflict, as an antidote to any complacent assumptions that it could never happen again. Mark Wood 5

6 Tranquil they lie November s Remembrance takes on an extra poignancy, as we mark the centenary of the Armistice which ended the Great War - signed at 11am (Paris Time) on the 11th day of the 11th month. The first to be buried was an older soldier Albert Beverley, (42) from Leeds, where his wife Rose lived. Albert served at the Army transport depot in The Avenue, but, tragically, in November 1915 decided to end his own life. Next was Private Tims, from a London Regiment, who died in March Although the cause is not given, he may well have been injured and returned to Britain. If he died in the hospital at Wilton House, this would explain why he is buried here. Not all servicemen who died in World War I are buried in the huge cemeteries in Belgium and France. Others are buried further away - Turkey, Iraq, India but eight men found their resting places in Wilton Cemetery, where a plaque is to be erected. Visitors will spot that five have War Graves Commission headstones a simple shape with the name and date of death of each man, his Regimental Badge and a cross. Three have individual headstones as their families, living in Wilton, provided their own memorials. But what of their stories? Captain Terence Brabazon (20), who was nursed there, died of septic pneumonia caused by his wounds in August His headstone unusually also bears the name of his father, Lt Col. William Brabazon, who asked that when he died (in 1939) he should be buried with his son. Another older soldier was John Oakley (43) born in Shropshire but serving in the Wiltshire Regt. His widow Ethel lived at 5 Crow Lane. John had fought in the disastrous 1915 Gallipoli campaign in Turkey. He died of wounds in April 1918 (although our Book of Remembrance says 1919 ). 6

7 Tranquil they lie Four months later, Wilton-born Grenadier Guardsman Walter Griffen, whose parents lived at 17 St John s Square, died of typhoid, aged just 19 years. Both John and Walter s names appear on the War Memorial in front of the Parish Church, as does Charles Gobey s. He died in hospital in 1919, aged 42, before the official peace treaty ended the war. Victor Madex (24) also died that year. He was part of the Australian forces sent over, many of whom were in local camps. Here they carved an enormous map of Australia on Compton Down (currently being restored). He and his wife lived at 51 West Street. Sadly he was found drowned in the river, but Nellie had a special stone carved for him. Finally, Bertram Young (aged 23) of 28 Ditchampton died in hospital in February His parents Tom and Alice wanted him name included on the War Memorial, as his illness had resulted from his time as a soldier. We shall remember them all on 11th November. Service of Remembrance 2018 Wilton Parish Church Sunday 11 th November 10.30am At the going down of the sun, and in the morning.. We will remember them. Christine Matthews 7

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9 Bits and Bobs.. Services at St. Peter s Christmas Market Saturday 25th November 11am - 2pm Wilton Community Centre Raffle, Refreshments Light Lunches ( ) Variety of Gift and Craft Stalls, Tombola and Much More! Thursdays 11.00am Holy Communion 13 and 27 September 11and 25 October 8 and 22 November Come along for some fun and do some Christmas shopping! FREE ADMISSION Wilton Parish Church ALL SOULS COMMEMORATION A Service for remembering our loved ones who have died SUNDAY 4th NOVEMBER at 4.00pm Whether or not you normally attend church, you are warmly invited to this special service of prayer and reflection. 9

10 Home Farm Road, Wilton, SP2 8PJ Elmfield Close, Woodfalls, Salisbury, SP5 2BF Phone: Mobile: PA CARE DIRECTORY Care and Home help Matching your carer to your needs. Please call Fill a sack with treasure from our warehouse! Have fun learning new skills. Pocket money craft kits. Arty Parties. SCRAPSTORE OPEN IN WILTON Unit 2 Kingsway Business Park, Wilton SP2 0AP Thurs. 11 5; Fri & Sat

11 Church Services St. Mary & St. Nicholas, West Street, Wilton Sundays 8.00 am Holy Communion (1st Sunday of the month at St. John s Priory) am Sung Eucharist Monday - Saturday 9.30am Morning Prayer St. Catherine s, Netherhampton First and Third Sunday of the month: 9.30 am Sung Matins Second and Fourth Sunday of the month: 9.30 am Holy Communion St. Peter s, Fugglestone As advertised: Holy Communion - some Thursdays at 11.00am Evensong - some Sundays at 6.00pm St. John s Priory Chapel, Shaftesbury Road Wednesday, am Holy Communion (followed by coffee) First Sundays only am Holy Communion Whether you visit us as a pilgrim or tourist, whether you are confident in your faith, curious to know more, or just plain sceptical - you will always be welcome in our churches. 11

12 September Sunday 16th - Parish Church Celebrating St. Edith of Wilton 10.45am - Sung Eucharist 3.00pm - Mayor s Sunday Service Sunday 23rd - Harvest Festival 8.00 and 10.45am - Parish Church 6.00pm - St Catherine s, Netherhampton October Sunday 7th - Parish Church s Dedication Festival 10.45am Sung Eucharist 6.00pm Choral Evensong: combined Choirs of Wilton Parish Church and Holy Trinity, Bradford on Avon November Saturday 24th - Christmas Market 11am - 2pm - Community Centre Sunday 25th - St Catherine s, Netherhampton: 3.00pm Annual Thanksgiving Service 12