Surrey days of Remembrance 2009

By Christopher Bennett
BBC Surrey

People across Surrey are preparing to mark the memory of thousands

Hundreds of people work across Surrey to help the casualties of war.

Whether it's with the iconic poppy or with the latest medical technologies.

The green hills of Surrey are home to charities and Ministry of Defence facilities whose specialist role is to restore the hope of service men and women injured on the battlefield.

For those who return, injured physically or psychologically, the county offers a many haven where lives can be won back.

Combat Stress

War produces terrible experiences and images

War produces terrible experiences and images - ones which can permanently scar the lives of those who were witness to them.

Tyrwhitt House in Surrey, run by the charity Combat Stress, works with ex-service men and women suffering from severe mental trauma because of their experiences in war.

The 30-bed treatment centre, whose patron is the Prince of Wales, works to help tackle conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

For more on the charity, visit the official website .

Headley Court

Headley Court works with the latest technologies

For those who return from war with severe physical injuries, the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court near Epsom works with the latest technologies to, in some cases, quite literally put the injured back on their feet.

Prosthetic limbs and 'walking technologies', some developed by NASA, get the injured walking again as well as helping them to deal with other physical injuries caused their wounds.

Find out more from the Headley Court website

The Poppy Factory

The iconic red poppy is another local industry

The iconic red poppy is another local industry.

A team of people, most disabled, work all year at the Poppy Factory in Richmond, Surrey, to make poppies and wreaths for the Poppy Appeal.

In total the team make around 34 million Poppies, 5 million remembrance petals, 750,000 Remembrance Crosses and nearly 100,000 wreaths.

You can read more on the The Poppy Factory website .

For the Fallen

The Royal Holloway Chorus rehearses weekly

A Concert for Remembrance Day.

The Royal Holloway Chorus and The Choir of Royal Holloway, will come together for a special commemorative concert to mark Remembrance Day.

The performance will begin at 7.30pm on 11 November in the chapel at Royal Holloway, University of London, with tickets priced at £10 for adults, £8 senior citizens and free for students.

Kodály's 'Missa Brevis' is a poignant choice for this concert as the Hungarian composer wrote the piece whilst in hiding in Budapest during World War II.

For more information and tickets, see the official website .

The Passing of a Generation

The service will recognise both military and civilian contributions

Many will be remembered at a special service in Westminster Abbey on Armistice Day.

The service will recognise both military and civilian contributions in the First World War.

This year saw the deaths of the three remaining veterans of the First World War living in the UK - 108-year-old William Stone in January, Henry Allingham and 111-year-old Harry Patch.

The service on Wednesday 11 November 2009 will be attended by HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

There are a small number of tickets for members of the public to attend the service, available from the offices of the Lord Lieutenants for each county.

Find out more from the Passing of the WW1 Generation website .