Ashford Remembrance Sunday: 8 November, Silence at 11am

Remembrance Sunday 2026 falls on Sunday 8 November, the second Sunday of the month. Ashford Borough Council has not yet published this year’s timings. It published last year’s on 27 October 2025, less than a fortnight before the day. That announcement set out the pattern this page follows: a church service at St Mary’s, a parade and two minutes’ silence in the Memorial Gardens, and a separate parade and service in Tenterden with the A28 closed.

The quick answer

Remembrance Sunday is Sunday 8 November 2026, and Armistice Day is Wednesday 11 November. Last year Ashford’s service in the Memorial Gardens began with the parade brought to attention at 10.50am, the two minutes’ silence at 11am, and wreaths from 11.04am. Tenterden’s parade left Recreation Ground Road at 10.30am, and the A28 was closed from 10.25am to 11.40am. The 2026 details are expected in late October.

Ashford: the Memorial Gardens service

The Royal British Legion runs the borough’s main service at the war memorial in the Memorial Gardens. Last year’s order, from the council’s announcement (Ashford Borough Council, 27 October 2025), was:

The practical points from the same announcement:

• The gardens opened to the public at 10am, and the council asked people to arrive ten minutes before the start.
• For the best view, stand in the lower section of the gardens.
• The Garden of Remembrance itself is closed to the public during the service; you can go in to lay your own wreaths and crosses once it reopens at the end.
• Free parking was offered at Elwick Road car park, TN23 1LH, from 8am, a short walk along Church Road.

The war memorial was designed by the local architect Edwin A Jackson and unveiled on 1 June 1924. It carries the names of 250 of the fallen of the First World War; after the Second World War further names, civilians among them, were added on plaques on the low walls around it, according to the council’s Remembrance page.

The service at St Mary’s first

At 9.30am, before the parade, St Mary the Virgin church in the town centre holds a Remembrance Sunday service with hymns, prayers, organ and choir, attended by the Mayor and Armed Forces representatives. Last year the council said it would “finish in good time for people to make the short walk to the Memorial Gardens”.

Tenterden: parade, service and road closure

In Tenterden, last year’s parade set off from Recreation Ground Road at 10.30am for the Tenterden War Memorial, where the service began at 10.50am with the reading of the names on the memorial and the laying of wreaths. It ended at 11.25am, followed by a parade back to Church Road for the dismissal.

The A28 from Recreation Ground Road to the West Cross junction was closed to vehicles from 10.25am to 11.40am. If you are driving through Tenterden that morning, plan round it. Our roadworks and travel page will carry the 2026 closure once the notice is published.

Armistice Day, 11 November

The national two minutes’ silence is at 11am on 11 November each year, which in 2026 is a Wednesday. The council’s Remembrance page marks it; it has not published any 2026 Armistice Day event.

The Poppy Appeal

Last year the council said poppies could be bought at International House, the council’s offices, or at the Royal British Legion’s Ashford office on Church Road, TN23 1RA.

What is still to be confirmed

• The 2026 timings for Ashford and Tenterden: expected in late October, as last year’s came on 27 October.
• The A28 closure in Tenterden for 8 November 2026.
• Village services: none is listed on the council’s site. If your parish publishes one, tell us and we will add it.

The bonfire and fireworks weekend falls just before Remembrance Sunday this year; see our Ashford fireworks page. For parking in the town centre, see parking in Ashford.