The parents of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan will walk “with love and pride” alongside each other when they lay a wreath in memory of their sons at a football club’s annual Remembrance fixture on Saturday.
Oxhey Jets FC have always staged the match in memory of their former player Private Tom Lake, a member of the 1st Battalion, The Princess of Wales Regiment, who was killed on November 20, 2011 while serving in Afghanistan.
For the first time, this year’s fixture will also honour Tom Sawyer, who was Captain of 7 Sphinx Battery, 29 Commando, when he died in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan on January 14, 2009.
The move means Capt. Sawyer’s parents, Sue and Martyn, will join Pte. Lake’s mother, Carol, in laying a wreath before the Combined Counties League club take on the Royal Navy’s Under-23 side, who are the inter-services champions.
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“We first met Carol through the tragic deaths of both our sons in Afghanistan,” Sue explained. “Our shared heartaches have forged a lovely friendship we think both our boys would be proud of.
“When we attended Tom Lake’s road opening earlier this year we met [Jets founder] John Elliott for the first time. John had followed our Tom’s story and we talked, amongst other things, about how both boys had a love of football and played for local youth teams.
“We knew of course about the Oxhey Jets Tom Lake Memorial Match from Carol and what a tribute it was, so when John asked if we would consider laying a wreath for our Tom alongside Carol for her Tom we were totally honoured, as we know our son would be.
“It will be with love and pride that we walk alongside Carol on Saturday and we would like to thank John, Oxhey Jets and Carol for this opportunity to remember our sons.”
Jets have previously faced regimental teams or sides from a military base, including Northwood Headquarters in 2023, in the fixture but John believes the calibre of the opposition will raise the occasion to a new level.
“I’m really looking forward to this because I think it’s massive having the Navy here it’s going to be a brilliant test for the players,” he said. “They’ve started a really good run, they’ve gone seven unbeaten and it’s going to be interesting to see where they stand against such a side.
“They will be by far the best side we’ve played. I usually look forward to the first bit [the pre-match act of Remembrance] but I’m really looking forward to the football side of this one.”
The fixture has raised thousands of pounds for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal and the pre-match build-up at the Boundary Stadium, Altham Way, will get underway from 2pm when the Northwood Military Volunteer Band perform on the pitch.
This will be the first time a band has played ahead of the fixture and, in another first, they will also be performing the National Anthem prior to kick-off, rather than a recoded version being played over the stadium speakers.
An act of Remembrance is due to start at 2.30pm, with a piper playing laments to herald the entrance of the official party onto the pitch.
Among the dignitaries due to attend are the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire Annie Brewster, Deputy Lieutenant and Watford FC legend Luther Blissett, South West Hertfordshire MP Gagan Mohindra and the chair of Three Rivers District Council Cllr Raj Khiroya.
Wreaths are also traditionally laid by councillors, the police, football association representatives, the match officials, Oxhey Jets Youth and both teams before the Last Post is played.
The Garry Beadle Memorial Trophy, named after the Jets player who died in 2019, is also set to be paraded and presented in recognition of the Royal Navy’s involvement in the game Admission to the fixture is £5 by programme.
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