Each November, people from across Northstowe gather to remember those affected by war and conflict, to honour service and sacrifice, and to recommit ourselves to the work of reconciliation, peace and justice.

Our Act of Remembrance is shared across the life of the town, bringing together residents, schools, uniformed organisations, civic representatives and people from different faiths and worldviews.

Remembrance 2026

For general attendance, no booking is needed — simply come and join us. 

If you are an organization wanting to lay a wreath, share a story, or join the parade, please get in touch as soon as possible.

Remembrance brings us together to remember the horrors of war and the courage, service and sacrifice of those whose lives have been shaped by conflict.

But remembering the past also asks something of us in the present. Through story and silence, we seek to make those histories real again — not to glorify war, but so that what we remember might strengthen our commitment to reconciliation, peace and justice.

For Christians, that commitment is rooted in our hope for God’s peace and our calling to be peacemakers. Northstowe’s Act of Remembrance is deliberately shared much more widely, creating space for people of different religious and non-religious beliefs to stand alongside one another in remembrance.

Remembering together in a new town

Northstowe held its first town-wide Act of Remembrance in 2021. Since then it has become one of the moments in the year when many different parts of our still-growing community gather in the same place.

Schools and young people, uniformed organisations, civic representatives, faith communities and neighbours have all helped shape our acts of remembrance. Different years have allowed us to hear different stories — including the service of people from across nations, cultures and faiths whose contributions can too easily disappear from familiar accounts of war.

The details change as Northstowe grows, but the intention remains: to remember truthfully, to honour service and sacrifice, and to allow memory to deepen our commitment to peace.

Connected with Longstanton War Memorial

Northstowe does not yet have a war memorial of its own. After our Act of Remembrance beside Bug Hunters Water, the wreaths laid by representatives of the town are taken to the Longstanton War Memorial, where they remain alongside those of the neighbouring village. It creates an important connection between one of England’s newest towns and the longer story of the communities around us. Northstowe is developing its own traditions of remembrance, but we do so recognising that our landscape and our neighbours carry memories that began long before the town itself existed.

Remembering the Pathfinders

Northstowe is built on land that once formed part of RAF Oakington, and that wartime history remains visible in names across the town, including The Pathfinder School and Pathfinder Church.

In August 1942, No. 7 Squadron at RAF Oakington became one of the five original squadrons of the RAF’s Pathfinder Force. Pathfinder crews flew ahead of the main bomber force, using developing navigation technology to locate and mark targets. The work was highly skilled and extremely dangerous, and crews operating from Oakington suffered significant losses. RAF Oakington remained closely connected with the Pathfinders through the war, with other Pathfinder units and aircraft also operating from the station.

That history is not something we remember uncritically. Remembrance gives us space both to honour the courage and service of those who lived and flew from this place, and to face honestly the terrible human cost of war — including for those on the ground beneath the bombing campaigns in which they took part.

Living on this former airfield means those questions are literally beneath our feet. Our hope is that remembering its story can deepen our commitment to reconciliation, peace and justice today.