Armed forces

We are proud to support our men and women serving in the armed forces, their families and veterans in our communities.

Community Covenant

We have signed the Essex Armed Forces Community Covenant

The covenant aims to:

  • encourage local communities to support the armed forces communities in their areas
  • increase public understanding of the issues affecting the armed forces community
  • recognise and honour the sacrifices faced by the armed forces

The Armed Forces Covenant has now been enshrined in law by the Armed Forces Bill

Support

Veterans' Gateway is a first point of contact for veterans who need support. They put veterans and their families in touch with the organisations that can best help provide the kind of information, advice and support they need – includes health, housing, jobs, finances, personal relationships and more.

You can also get support from Veterans UK and The Royal British Legion

During this cost of living crisis, the British Legion are providing Cost of Living Grants to help people with everyday essentials such as kitchen appliances, clothes, and energy costs.

You might want to join one of the Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Clubs (there are meet ups in Chelmsford and Bishop's Stortford) for a chat with like-minded people.

War memorials 

The main war memorials in Harlow are:

  • Netteswell and Burnt Mill Memorial Cross (CM20 2QD)
  • Great Parndon Memorial Cross (CM19 4HB)
  • Potter Street Memorial Cross (CM17 9NG)
  • Old Harlow Memorial Cross (CM17 0JT)

However, there are also many other war memorial sites in Harlow. For details of these, look at our war memorials and graves in Harlow map (pdf)

Remembrance events

We hold remembrance events each November at war memorial sites.

WW1 Centenary Project

The WW1 Centenary Project was a collaboration between The Royal British Legion, Heart 4 Harlow, Harlow Civic Society, The Western Front Association, members of the local community and Harlow Council, which featured events and exhibitions to commemorate key dates of the war.

The project, which ran from 2014 to 2018, included exhibitions on the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Passchendaele to commemorate the men from Harlow who died in these battles.

The project also featured the ‘There but not There’ campaign which saw 6-foot tall aluminium silhouettes of 'Tommies' installed around the town.

You can read more about the project in our WW1 Centenary Project illustrated book (pdf)