Lindfield’s Remembrance Sunday

Welcome to Lindfield Life’s Remembrance information page. Here you will find our most recent information for all things Remembrance Sunday.

See also, Lindfield Parish Council
and All Saints Church

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 Lindfield remembers 2026

By Sue Blunden

Have you ever visited the War Memorial, in the west boundary wall of All Saints Church?

There, engraved into the stone, you will find the names of the young men of Lindfield that sacrificed their lives in the two World Wars. 61 from WWI and 34 from WWII. So many lives lost, especially at a time when Lindfield was a much smaller village than the one we know today. We must always remember them.

Did you know that members of the Lindfield branch of the Royal British Legion are already busy organising the remembrance events for 2026? In the week leading up to Remembrance Sunday on 8th November, there will be an opportunity to purchase your poppies and other poppy goods from our RBL gazebo in the High Street. All monies collected go directly to the Poppy Appeal. Last year, more than £14,000 was raised by the Lindfield branch, an incredible achievement.

Following the success of last year, another ‘Poppy Friday’ will be held in the United Reform Church Hall on 6th November from 10am – 3pm.

This is a social event open to all with no booking required. Why not join us and meet up with friends old and new in a warm and friendly atmosphere? There will be musical entertainment throughout the day, featuring the fabulous local singer Tobias at noon and a wonderful piper at 3pm.

Hot and cold food will be available all day, gluten free available. As this is a free event, donations to the Poppy Appeal will be gratefully received. Kim, our branch support volunteer, will also be available for a chat if anyone is interested in this service that offers one-to-one support to current and former members of the British Armed Forces and their dependants, by home visits, telephone befriending and hospital visits.

On Sunday 8th November, the British Legion Remembrance Service will be held in All Saints Church at 3pm. This will be preceded by the laying of wreaths at 2.45pm when over 20 representatives from local organisations will lay a wreath at the War Memorial to honour and remember the lives lost in both World Wars.

On Armistice Day, Wednesday 11th November at 11am, an act of Remembrance will be held at the War Memorial. Both events at All Saints will be followed by refreshments in The Tiger where everyone is welcome.

For further information and how to get involved please contact Branch Chairman Val Upton on 01444 482866.

Remembering Lindfield resident Ernest Mackellar Turner

By Roddy Turner

In the April 22 edition of Lindfield Life, in the article on royal celebrations in Lindfield I was pleased to see a photo of my late father, Mac Turner of Meadow Lane, in Highland dress playing the bagpipes, leading the procession through Lindfield as a part of the 1977 Silver Jubilee celebrations. Ernest MacKellar Turner, otherwise known as Mac, was a well-known character in the village, always ready to stop for a chat with anyone, whether walking to the shops or to passersby whilst tending his garden. His rich Scottish accent and warm manner made him many friends, and I know his passing, last year at the age of 88, will be felt by all those who knew him. I would therefore like to tell a little about his colourful, hardworking and very full life.

Mac was born in 1933 in the village of Minard on the shores of Loch Fyne in Argyll, a place of pristine beauty with a strong community, and a lost way of life about which he never ceased to reminisce. Although the village was poor by today’s standards everyone helped each other out and his childhood was coloured by working on farms or roaming in the hills. As a child he developed a strong love of making things, be it model boats or repairing old bikes, and the skills he learned were invaluable in years to come.

Mac’s idyllic childhood was overshadowed by the outbreak of WW2. The whole of Loch Fyneside became a restricted area, as one of the places chosen for the preparations for the eventual landings of D-Day. The local children could attend home guard lectures with the adults, and Mac could strip and re-assemble a Bren gun in double quick time, to the embarrassment of the men who were finding it hard to accomplish!

in 1951 he received his national service call-up papers and took the train ‘down south’ to the RAF camp at Yatesbury in Wiltshire for his basic training, and then to learn a trade as a ground mechanic working on wireless, radar and other technologies of the burgeoning post war recovery years.

To read the full, and beautiful, piece Roddy has written about his late father, please grab a copy of Lindfield Life’s August issue and turn to page 12 and 13, where you’ll see wonderful photos and be taken around the world with Mac.

Local Poppy Appeal

By Val Upton

This year the poppy appeal will be different. There will be no door-to-door collections and no street collectors with trays.

However, there will be an opportunity to buy poppies. Between 31st October and 7th November volunteers will man a table to enable socially-distanced collection and donations.

Our Service of Remembrance on 8th November at All Saints Church will be limited numbers and you will need to sign up for it. It will commence at 10.30am, starting with wreath laying and then a short service. Everyone must wear a mask. There will sadly be no parade this year.