Both Remembrance services will be held at Crowborough's damaged war memorial. Repairs may be done in time, and volunteers have made a poppy veil for the pillar.

Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day will both be marked at Crowborough War Memorial as planned, Crowborough Town Council says. A car hit the memorial on Chapel Green on Friday 9 October and damaged its end pillar.

The council now hopes the repair “could be completed just in time” for the services. In case it is not, a volunteer group has made a veil of poppies to cover the damaged section. (Crowborough Town Council, press information, 27 October 2026)

The services

  • Remembrance Sunday, 8 November: the service is at 11am. Anyone joining the Remembrance Parade should be there for 10.20am.
  • Armistice Day, Wednesday 11 November: the service runs from 10.45am.

Both go ahead at the memorial “even if repairs are not completed”, the council says. If the work is unfinished, it will make sure the area is safe and clear. (Crowborough Town Council, council news)

Our Remembrance Sunday page has the parade route and the other services around the town.

The damage

Only the end pillar was damaged. The plaques with the names of the fallen are intact.

The damage is “serious and will require a specialist repair”, the council said on 12 October. At that point it thought a repair before Remembrance was unlikely. Its grounds team cleared the debris and made the area safe over the weekend after the collision. (Crowborough Town Council, press information, 12 October 2026)

The Mayor, Councillor Natalie Whittle, said: “We are a town that wears its heritage with pride, and our close, long-standing relationship with the armed forces means a great deal to us all.”

How the town has responded

The council says it has been “overwhelmed with the response from our community”. Since the collision:

  • local companies have offered to help with the repair
  • The Sewing Crow-Bees and Yarn Bombers, a volunteer group, have made a “Poppy Veil” from hundreds of individual poppies, to be joined into a cascade over the damaged section
  • High Broom Care Home, a certified Veteran Friendly home in Crowborough, asked to donate towards the repair; at the council’s suggestion it gave the money to the volunteer group instead

The same volunteers are also making a new remembrance installation for the memorial garden at All Saints Church, next to the war memorial. They are moving last year’s poppy cascade, which hung from the top of the tree, into the garden. They hope to have the poppies in place early in November.

What it means for you

  • Go as planned. Neither service has moved, and the names on the memorial are all readable.
  • Expect the poppies. If the repair is not done by 8 November, the damaged pillar will be under the volunteers’ veil rather than behind barriers.
  • Questions about the repair go to the town council on 01892 652907 or clerk@crowboroughtowncouncil.gov.uk.