Join our CWG Christmas Carol Service 2025

Join us for a special Commemorations at Christmas Carol Service, a fundraiser in aid of the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation. Get your tickets now!

CWG Christmas Carol Service advert with text laid over a christmas altar and tree scene set up in All Hallow's by the Tower Churc, London:

Join us for the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation's Commemorations at Christmas Christmas Carol Service at All Hallows by the Tower, at 7 pm on Tuesday, 9 December 2025 at All Hallows by the Tower, London.

Tickets cost £35.00 plus booking fee for the basic service.

We warmly invite you and your family to this unique event, featuring special performances and traditional carols, for an unforgettable evening of reflection, remembrance, and gratitude for those who died in service during the two World Wars.

We are delighted to announce there will be special performances from Mared Emyr Pugh Evans (Official Harpist to His Majesty The King) and the wonderful Portsmouth Cathedral Choir.

We will also welcome guest speakers Mark Smith (Antiques Roadshow) and Onjali Q Rauf (Children's author of The Lion Above the Door and The Boy at the Back of the Class).

After the service, please consider joining us at Trinity House, a short walk across the road, for an exclusive reception with festive food and drinks.

Commemorations at Christmas 2025: Meet our special guests

Mark Smith

Mark Smith

Mark will be recognised by many of you as the Medals and Militaria expert on the Long- running BBC television programme the Antiques Roadshow, Mark started on the Roadshow in 2014. He has appeared on many Television Programmes, such as Deep Wreck Mysteries, Who Do You Think You Are, Bargain Hunt, Murder Mystery, My Family, the One Show, and Breakfast Television, to name but a few.

He is also known for his work on Radio, particularly the British Forces Broadcasting Service and podcasts for ABF The Soldiers Charity and the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.

Mark began collecting British medals in 1969 and has since amassed an extensive private collection. He began dealing in Militaria in 1983 in Islington, London, a hobby that has become a lifelong passion. He is a well-known expert on the Victoria Cross. He has written 5 books on The Great War and contributed to many other books and magazines.

He is a Member of the Western Front Association and the Orders and Medals Research Society, and for 40 years, a well-known Battlefield Tour Guide.

His autobiography, The Medal Man, published by Penguin Books Random House, is available in January 2026.

Onjali Q. Raúf 

Onjali Q. Raúf 

Onjali Q. Raúf is a multi-award-winning children’s author and women’s and refugee human rights activist. She is the founder and CEO of Making Herstory, which works to end the abuse, enslavement and trafficking of women and girls in the UK, and O’s Refugee Aid Team, which mobilises aid convoys and funds to help frontline refugee response teams across northern France and beyond.

She is the author of Sunday Times bestseller, The Boy at the Back of the Class, which won the Blue Peter Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2019, the Sakura Medal of Japan in 2020 and the Prix Janusz Korczak Prize in 2022 amongst others.

She was awarded an MBE in 2022 for her services to women’s rights and children’s literature, and in 2023, was the recipient of the NEU Fred and Anne Jarvis Award for services to education and her humanitarian works.

Twitter: @OnjaliRauf

Website: www.onjaliqrauf.org

Mared Emyr Pugh-Evans

Mared Emyr Pugh-Evans

Mared Emyr Pugh-Evans is an international prize-winning harpist from Borth, in mid-west Wales. She gained her MA (Performance) degree from the Royal Academy of Music in 2022, where she studied under Karen Vaughan. She also achieved her LRAM whilst studying for her final year and received a DipRAM certificate for her Final Performance. She graduated from RWCMD, Cardiff in 2020 with a First-Class (Honours) Bachelor of Music degree and also achieved her DipABRSM (Instrumental Teaching) certificate and was awarded the 2020 RWCMD Royal Welch Fusiliers Award and the Florence Mary Proctor Scholarship. In April 2025 she was inducted as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. 

Mared is honoured to have been appointed Harpist to His Majesty The King in the Summer of 2024, with her first official engagement happening a few weeks later celebrating 25 years of Y Senedd in Cardiff. During her first year in this prestigious role she has performed at three state banquets, in Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and was also an invited guest at the Community Music Makers Reception at Windsor Castle. She has performed live on S4C, Radio 4, and most recently on Radio 3. 

A regular recitalist on both the national and international stage, Mared has won numerous awards for her playing, including 6th Place HarpMasters Prize at the USA International Harp Competition, Bloomington in 2022 and Winner of the 2020 Sir Ian Stoutzker £10k Prize for the most outstanding musician at RWCMD.

After graduating from RAM, she was selected as an Open Academy Fellow, the Academy’s Community and Participation department, where her passion for this field of work blossomed. She is proud to not only be a Live Music Now musician but also a musician for Wigmore Hall’s community and participation department: Music for Life.

Most recently, she was guest soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra under the baton of composer Patrick Hawes for a performance of his Highgrove Suite to a sell-out audience at Norwich Cathedral.

Frequently Asked Questions

The address for All Hallows by the Tower is: Byward St, London, EC3R 5BJ . Nearby locations include Tower Hill Memorial and the Tower of London.

The nearest Underground stations are:

  • Tower Hill (4 minute walk - District and Circle Lines)
  • Tower Gateway (6 minute walk - DLR)
  • Monument (8 minute walk - District and Circle Lines)

Local bus lines include: 15, 42, 78 and 100.

No, due to the location of the event there is no parking at either All Hallows or Trinity House.

Yes, both All Hallows and Trinity House have accessible access.

You will receive a digital ticket via Eventbrite. This can either be printed or shown on a smartphone or device upon arrival. Please show your ticket again at Trinity House to enter the reception. Tickets are non-transferable.

We cannot offer refunds if you can't attend. If the event is rescheduled, we will confirm the new details. If you can't attend the new date, you can claim a refund. Our liability is limited to the ticket's face value, and only the original purchaser is eligible for a refund.

For any special requests please contact supporters@cwgc.org and we will be able to advise further. 

We recommend smart dress (semi-formal) but encourage guests to dress comfortably and warmly. Guests are permitted to wear medals at your discretion.

The service will end at approximately 8.15pm and the reception ends at 9.30pm. 

No, seating is open and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please read the Terms and Conditions for this event

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (“CWGC”) and Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (“CWGF”) Ticketed Event Terms and Conditions

These terms and conditions relate to ticketed events organised and run by the CWGC and CWGF (“us”, “we” “our”). By requesting tickets for our events, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. If you are booking on behalf of a party, you accept these terms and conditions on behalf of all people in the party.

Tickets and Payment

  1. Tickets may only be booked through Eventbrite. To book events with us, you must register and use Eventbrite. Eventbrite’s terms of service can be viewed here: www.eventbrite.com/tos
  2. Payment for ticket(s) will be processed by Eventbrite (www.eventbrite.com). Eventbrite charge for administering this service, further details will be shown during the booking process.
  3. CWGF Supporters who have paid their membership fees (Join the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation) “Supporters” may have early access to our events. You must be a Supporter to take advantage of any member offers. We will make reasonable efforts to let Supporters know where tickets are available to them for early release.
  4. For the event “The Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Carol Service – a fundraiser for the CWGF” on 9 December 2025 at All Hallows by the Tower Church, 100% of the profits made from ticket sales will be given to CWGF. A maximum of ten tickets may be purchased per household.
  5. You must produce your valid ticket to gain entry to the event. This can be printed, or to save paper, we encourage you to show your ticket via your smartphone.
  6. Tickets of all types are non-transferable and are personal to you and your party for security reasons and you may be asked to produce valid identification to access the event.
  7. If the event is being held at certain venues, there may be additional security requirements in order for you to access the event. We will notify you of these, in advance.
  8. Tickets are limited and subject to availability on a “first come – first served” basis.
  9. We accept no responsibility for errors or omissions caused by the Eventbrite booking system.
  10. Where there are different types of tickets available for one event, we will do our best to ensure access to the event at the level of ticket purchased, but we cannot make any guarantees.

Personal data

  1. All information provided by you or collected by Eventbrite is governed by Eventbrite’s Privacy Policy which can be found here: www.eventbrite.com/privacypolicy
  2. By acquiring a ticket for the event, you consent to us processing your personal data in accordance with data protection laws and our privacy policy which can be found here: Privacy Policies | CWGC. We may contact you about the event. We may also contact you about other events that may be of interested to you if you opt into such communications during the booking process.

Refunds

  1. We are unable to process any refunds for tickets. However, if for any reason the event cannot take place, we will make every effort to reschedule the event and provide you with details of the new event information.
  2. We will only be able to refund the purchase price of your tickets if the event is cancelled and not rescheduled by us.
  3. In any event, our total liability if the event is cancelled and not rescheduled, is the face value of the ticket. Only the original purchaser of the ticket is entitled to a refund.

Suitability

  1. Under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult to attend. Please note that the reception is suitable for ages 18 and over only.

Health and safety

  1. You will comply with any relevant health and safety announcements and regulations when attending the event, including but not limited to:

a. Wearing a face covering (if not exempt), if required; and

b. If you are experiencing any covid-19 symptoms or have tested positive for covid-19 and/or have been told to self-isolate by the NHS, you should not attend the event.

Event content

We reserve the right to make any alteration to the event content (including as relates to speakers, performers or artists, as well as the event timing, dates and/or venue). We will make reasonable efforts to contact you to inform you of any changes, where possible. We will not be liable for any changes to the event.

Admission

1. We reserve the right to refuse you admission to the event, or request you leave an event, if, in our reasonable opinion, your admission to the event might

a.    be a risk to the safety of others and/or yourself;
b.    effect the enjoyment of other attendees and/or effect the running of the event.
c.    Otherwise at the discretion of those representing us at the event
 
For example, if you act aggressively towards us and our staff and/or volunteers or other members of the public, or you appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, we may not allow you to enter the event, or if you are already at the event, we may require you to leave.

Late arrivals

  1. We will do our best to allow you access to the event if you are late arriving to the venue. However, we are not able to guarantee access to the event if you are late. We are unable to refund the tickets if you are late arriving and cannot access the event or if you miss part of the event.

Filming, recording and electronic equipment

  1. By attending events with us, you and your party consent to be filmed, livestreamed, recorded and/or photographed. You and your party grant us the right to use recordings of any means and type on any media or promotional materials about our work or the event.
  2. Unauthorised use of recording equipment, including cameras and camera phones is strictly prohibited unless explicitly advised by us at the event.
  3. Please ensure your electronic equipment, especially mobile phones, are switched off or set to silent before entering the event.

Smoking

  1. We have a strict non-smoking (which includes vaping) policy at our events.
  2. You must also adhere to any specific venue policies. Limitation of liability
  3. We are not liable for any loss or damage of any kind whether direct or indirect, including but not limited to travel expenses, or other out of pocket expenses. In any event, our total liability to you is the face value of the ticket purchased.

General

  1. We reserve the right to change or amend these terms and conditions from time to time.
  2. These terms and conditions shall be construed in accordance with English Law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in England and Wales.

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