Our annual service of Remembrance for the young men who lost their lives in our Parish during the Second World War, took place on Saturday 7 November 2026 at 11am in St Joseph’s Graveyard, Glenavy. The Service was led by our Parish Priest Fr. Rory Sheehan. This year as well as our parishioners we welcomed 40 Polish Bikers.
The 40 members of the Polish Bikers Club – Grupa Północ, were taking part in the Tracing Polish Wings Rally to honour the Polish airmen and other Polish Armed Forces personnel who served during the Second World War and were buried in Northern Ireland.
Their journey began at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast, where they laid wreaths at the graves of Polish airmen, then stopped at the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron mural in North Belfast, a tribute to one of the most famous squadrons of the Battle of Britain. On the way, they joined our Remembrance ceremony at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Glenavy where graves of Sergeant Prętkiewicz and Major Perepeczko are located. Their day ended at the Ulster Aviation Society.
After the ceremony all the attendees gathered in the Annex of St Joseph’s for refreshments and to view the photographs of the historic events. Thank you to all involved in making this day possible.
