Residents are preparing to pay their respects this weekend to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War.

Here’s a round-up of remembrance events happening near you.

Here's more information if you want to find out more about the services being held at your nearest churches.

  • PORTLAND

There will be a number of remembrance events and services taking place on the island this weekend.

On Saturday, there will be a Festival of Remembrance at The Drill Hall, which is being organised by the Royal British Legion. It will start at 7.30pm and will be attended by Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, Angus Campbell, South Dorset MP Richard Drax and the Mayor of Portland Charlie Flack.

Performing at the event will be Stella Brading, The Stromatic Dance Company, Weymouth Concert Brass. There will also be a video which includes the names of the fallen from Portland. As well as this, uniform organisations will be doing presentations and there will be a creation of a Drum Altar. The event is free to attend.

On Remembrance Sunday, there will be a march from The Drill hall to Portland Cenotaph, along Easton Lane, where there will be a service of remembrance at 10.55am.

At 12.30pm, a service of remembrance will take place at the American war memorial in Victoria Gardens.

In the evening, residents will gather at the Olympic Rings for a beacon lighting ceremony. Across the country, more than 1200 beacons will be lit as part of ‘Battles Over’ a tribute to the millions who were lost or who participated in the war. People should arrive at 6,30pm for a 7pm start. The event is being supported by Portland Town Council.

Afterwards there will be a small service at The Drill Hall, where there will be some music and warm soup and rolls served. This is expected to take place at around 7.30pm.

  • DORCHESTER

In the lead-up to Remembrance Sunday, Dorchester Town Council and Dorset County Council have been working together to display a number of silent soldier silhouettes around the town.

On Wednesday, November 7 a free community event called Homecoming will be taking place at The Corn Exchange from 10.30am to 4.30pm.

The event will celebrate the returning of the troops following the end of the war and commemorate not just the nearly 300 servicemen and women associated with the town who died in the Great War, but also the widows and mothers who had to live with their grief.

It has been organised by Dorchester Town Council, The Keep Military Museum, the Mill Street Housing Association and the Dorset History Centre as well as several other partners with the help of well-known local historian Brian Bates.

In the morning there will be performances from Manor Park school and St Osmund’s school as well as a wealth of displays and artefacts to look at and activities to participate in such as button making and conker fights – something for all ages to enjoy.

In the afternoon, there will be music from the Decadettes performing popular songs of the era and free refreshments will be served all day including Trench Stew, Nelson Cake and Camp Coffee.

There will also be a range of historical talks taking place every hour from 11am looking at how life was during the war, as well as stories of the local soldiers who never came home.

The day will also see the launch of Dorchester’s new Poppy Trail.

This explores the hidden history of the First World War in Dorchester. The Prisoner of War Camp here was one of the largest in the country and held over 4,000 prisoners at its height. There are few signs of it today, but by exploring the Poppy Trail you can discover where it was, where soldiers signed up for the war effort at the Dorchester Barracks and the Corn Exchange, the soldiers’ home in North Square and the War Memorial designed by Thomas Hardy.

In the evening, Dorchester Arts will be hosting The Men Who Marched Away at the Corn Exchange at 8pm. It has been created to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Great War, musicians Chris Green and Sophie Matthews use music and song to tell the story of ‘The War to End All Wars’.For more information visit www.dorchesterats.org.uk/wed-7-nov-the-men-who-marched-away-songs-of-the-great-war/

The Dorchester Remembrance Sunday Service will take place on the 11 November at the War Memorial at 11am – again, all are welcome.

The Town Council will also be taking part in Battle’s Over, an international commemoration marking 100 years since the guns fell silent at the end of WWI.

At 7pm On Sunday, November 11 the beacon in Salisbury Fields will be lit in a tribute called Beacons of Light, signifying the light of peace that emerged from the darkness of four years of war.

All are welcome to attend from 6.45pm when Heart and Soul, the Poundbury Community Choir will be performing. The Last Post will sound at 6.55pm followed by the lighting of the Beacon.

At 7.05pm the Town Crier, Alistair Chisholm will deliver the ‘Cry for Peace around the World’.

Battle’s Over is part of a wider programme that will be celebrated around the UK and at scores of locations overseas, including New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, Bermuda, France, Belgium, Canada, the United States and Germany, to name but a few.

  • WEYMOUTH

On Remembrance Sunday, there will be a remembrance service and parade. It will take place at the town’s war memorial near Weymouth Seafront at 10:58am, there will then be a two-minute silence at 11am.

Mayor of Weymouth and Portland Gill Taylor will then lead a wreath laying ceremony with dignitaries and uniformed organisations in attendance.

There will then be a parade down the seafront to the US war memorial for a short service.

It’s important to note that there will be two road closures in place during the morning.

A road closure will be in place on the esplanade from St John’s Church to Jubilee Clock from 10am to 12.30pm.

There will also be a road closure on a section of the esplanade adjacent to the pavilion forecourt from 9am to 9.30am.

Danny Boyles’ Pages of the Sea will get underway on Weymouth Beach from 12.30pm.

This will be a special event to mark the centenary of Armistice Day. Communities are gathering across the country at beaches as part a unique moment to say goodbye to the millions of men and women who left their shores during the war, many never to return. Large scale portraits of individual soldiers will be created in the sands on the day.

In the evening the town will be holding its beacon lighting ceremony at the Nothe Fort. It will be free to attend and will start at 6pm with the beacon lighting at 7pm. There will be a variety of performances from groups including the Bovington Military Wives Choir and the Decadettes. The evening will be hosted by the Mayor of Weymouth and Portland, Cllr Gill Taylor.