Sussex to fall silent today at 1.22pm in memory of Shoreham victims

It marks the exact time a Hawker Hunter piloted by Andy Hill crashed into the A27, killing 11.

Flowers will be laid and a minute silence held on the wooden Shoreham Toll Bridge, which became a focal point for the community in the aftermath.

Eleven doves will then be released at 1.30pm, each representing one of the 11 men killed.

Victims' families, emergency service officers who attended the crash and civic leaders are expected to attend.

Meanwhile, flags will be flown at half-mast at civic buildings across West Sussex and Brighton and Hove.

An exhibition featuring some of the tributes left at the Toll Bridge in the weeks after the crash will also be open until the end of the day.

Being held in the Shoreham Centre in Pond Road it features items collected and preserved by the West Sussex Records Office.

West Sussex County Council leader Louise Goldsmith said: "Throughout the last year our thoughts have been with the families who lost loved ones. This tragedy has had a massive impact on the community and touched so many lives."

Today's commemorations follow a memorial service held on Saturday at St Mary de Haura Church in Shoreham.

In his address to some 300 congregants, Rev Terry Stratford, associate priest, said the community still shared "a sense of loss and bewilderment".

The families of the 11 have told The Argus of their enduring grief one year on.

Bob and Caroline Schilt, parents of 23-year-old Jacob, still leave his football boots by the back door while the family of Matt Jones, 24, have left his bedroom in Littlehampton as it was on the day he died.

There has also been frustration at the lack of answers into what exactly happened on August 22, 2015.

It emerged last month that the pilot, Andrew Hill, 52, is being investigated by police over possible manslaughter by gross negligence.

He has been questioned voluntarily under caution by police.

He has been pictured this week walking his dog near his home in Hertfordshire.

Meanwhile Sussex Police last month applied to the High Court to see records held by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

Police want access to copies of reports relating to human factors, engineering, tests and speed calculations as well as film footage of the flight, records of interviews with Mr Hill and a risk assessment report.

Two compensation claims have so far been settled with the owners of the plane, according to Stewarts Law, the firm representing some of the victims' families.

The AAIB's full report into the cause of the crash is not expected until at least September.

This year's Shoreham Airshow was cancelled out of respect for victims and their families.

WE CONTINUE TO SHARE A SENSE OF LOSS AND BEWILDERMENT

THE day after last year’s tragedy, the people of Shoreham packed into St Mary de Haura Church.

They were shocked, confused and trying to make sense of what they had witnessed less than 24 hours before.

A year on, and with the grief no less acute, they once again filed into the church on Saturday morning to remember the 11 lives lost.

The parents of Jacob Schilt and of Matthew Grimstone, two 23-year-old footballers killed on their way to a match, were among the relatives who lit 11 altar candles for the victims at the start of the service.

Organised by Churches Together in Shoreham and led by the Reverend Canon Ann Waizeneker, the service included a reading of John Donne’s poem No Man Is An Island.

Recalling how August 22, 2015, started as a “day like any other but will now always be remembered as a day like no other”, Rev Terry Stratford, associate priest of St Mary de Haura, spoke of the ongoing pain of families and praised emergency services.

He said: “If we were not present at Shoreham airfield ourselves, we can all remember where and when we heard or realised the enormity of what had happened.

“One year on, the whole community of Shoreham has an opportunity to come together in this ancient church, this sacred space, and reflect for a while on those 11 lives so suddenly and violently taken away.

“The suffering and shock of unexpected loss as the bonds of love and family life were traumatically ruptured.

“Also we think again of the commitment and expertise of those members of the different emergency services who were involved in this fatal disaster.

“John Donne, in the poem we have heard earlier, reflects on the inter-relatedness of human life. ‘Each man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind’ . He speaks for all of us.

“We as a community in Shoreham continue to share a sense of loss and bewilderment at this appalling tragedy.”

Rev Stratford told the 300 people who had gathered it was “absolutely right” there was to be no Shoreham airshow this year as a mark of respect to the victims.

Addressing the questions over the cause of the crash, he said: “But for the families of those who died, some of whom are here this morning, there is the continuing pain of still not knowing the full story of how their loved ones were killed.

“We understand that investigations by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch are continuing.

“The High Court is yet to rule on whether evidence from the plane can be released to the police.

“As much as we might wish otherwise, there seems to be no option but to wait. There can be no real moving on until all that can be humanly known about the crash is revealed and resolved.”

Hymns were sung including Lord of all Hopefulness and Be Still for the Presence of the Lord.

Prayers included the Lord’s Prayer while choir members from Shoreham churches sang John Rutter’s Gaelic blessing.

Congregants were then given a tea light which they were invited to leave in a side altar where it would be lit as a “beacon of hope and light”.

They were also invited to leave comments on the anniversary in a book at the back of the church.

Among those present was Leslye Polito, whose son Daniele Polito, 23, was killed. She praised the service and said she was pleased she went, even though it was hard to do so.

Caroline Schilt, mother to 23-year-old Jacob, said of the service: “It was amazing to organise something like this and to come together.

“It’s lovely for the families to share in this awful thing in a strange sort of way.”

Speaking before the service, Reverend Ann Waizeneker told The Argus: “I hope through this service the community will be able to support each other and of course the families of those who died.

“It’s not the time to preach at people but it’s the time to show love and support for each other.”