IT proved a poignant day on Monday, August 4, the centenary of the start of the First World War. As always, there was excellent coverage on the BBC with the service from Glasgow Cathedral in the morning and the amazing candlelit service from Westminster Abbey in the late evening. Locally, about 30 of us gathered at the lovely St Mary's Church in Mary Tavy for the parish commemoration, vigil service conducted by the Rev John Higman. It was good to pause in our busy lives to reflect and to remember the three quarters of a million British men who never returned home! So much suffering, slaughter and sacrifice. The names of the men who died from Mary Tavy and Peter Tavy were read out during the service. They will not be forgotten. We hope to have a full chapel at Mary Tavy on Remembrance Sunday, November 9 — it will be of even greater significance over the next four years! Tony Smith Lydford