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Jewish soldiers with unknown graves remembered

AJEX commemorates Jewish fallen and victims of the Holocaust at special ceremony

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Jewish soldiers with no known graves have been honoured at a special service of remembrance.

The service, conducted by AJEX The Jewish Military Association, took place at the Jewish War Memorial at Willesden Jewish Cemetery.

Around 100 attendees paid tribute to the 120,000 Jewish soldiers of HM forces who had died in both World Wars, including those whose final resting place remains unknown.

The ceremony also marked the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and remembered all victims of the Holocaust.

Dan Fox, AJEX’s national chair, who led the ceremony with Rabbi (Major) Reuben Livingstone, said afterwards: “Willesden Cemetery was consecrated in 1873 and, at the turn of the 20th century, was home to memorial boards for Jews who had died in the Boer Wars.

“Much has changed around us in those 150 years, but Jewish service to Crown and Country has remained steadfast and constant. The Willesden Cenotaph is the perfect place to remember and thank those whose memory we honour.”

A number of local dignitaries attended, including Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Robert Voss, and the Mayor of Brent, Councillor Orleen Hylton.

Thirty cadets from the 205 Wembley Detachment paraded with the AJEX standards and Richard Brett from the Jewish Lads and Girls Brigade joined the event as the bugler.

Further prayers were recited and poppies laid at the adjacent Liberal Jewish Cemetery.







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