Descendants of a First World War hero were guests of honour at a commemorative ceremony to remember those who died in the Battle of Passchendaele. 

John and Steve Grimley, grandson and great-grandson of Private Arthur Grimley paid their respects at the service in Queen’s Road Cemetery in Walthamstow on Wednesday November 22.

The event was organised by the East London Western Front Association after it issued a public appeal to trace those whose ancestors were buried in the graveyard.

Privates Sidney Victor Freeburgh of the Essex Regiment was among those honoured by guests including the Mayor of Waltham Forest Cllr Yemi Osho.

A minute’s silence was observed at the Cross of Sacrifice with Jonathan Steer of the Royal British Legion playing The Last Post.

The group then moved to the nearby cemetery in St Mary’s church yard where they were joined by the Reverend Vanessa Conant.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Cllr Peter Herrington and Eve Wilson, former headteacher of Willowfield Humaniteis College in Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow, planted trees.

Last year’s ceremony honoured Ernest Nottage, who attended the college before he was wounded in WWI and buried in the cemetery.

Malcolm Doolin of  East London Western Front Association said: “It was a special day with  a moving ceremony made very special by the presence of John and Steve Grimley and the tree planting, ensuring that the day would not be forgotten.”

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

The ceremony ended with a request by Mr Doolin that “the ordinary men who gave so much in extraordinary times” would continue to be remembered in the future.

The Association’s Passchendaele at Home project led by the Big Ideas Company has seen intensive research conducted into the lives of men killed in the battle in 1917.