Victims of Forbury Gardens attack remembered four years on at a civic service in the gardens

Today b(Thursday), people will come together in Reading to remember the victims of the Forbury Gardens attacks four years on at a Civic Service in the gardens at 7pm.

The lives of James Furlong, Joe Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails will be commemorated in a show of solidarity and support for their families and friends.

In June 2020, the three men were killed by Khairi Saadallah, who was convicted of their murders and is now serving a whole life sentence in prison.

A private memorial service for family, friends and invited guests will take place at St Laurence’s Church at 6pm. They will then make their way to the permanent memorial stone at Forbury Gardens bandstand where there will be a short civic service at 7pm led by Reading mayor Glenn Dennis and the Rev Sonya Wratten.

The service will include a flower laying ceremony and a minute’s silence.Forbury Gardens will close at 3pm today but will reopen at 6.30pm for members of the public who are invited to attend the civic service. People are welcome to bring their own flowers to lay as part of the ceremony.

The gardens then close again at 8pm and the Maiwand Lion will be lit from 9pm, with three beams of light shone into the night sky, in memory of James, Joe and David and everybody affected.

The civic service will be livestreamed on Reading Borough Council’s Facebook page for those unable to attend.