First World War memorial rededicated in Gateshead

Posted on May 13, 2014 by DH

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A two-tonne marble memorial has been rededicated in Gateshead as part of commemorations of the Centenary of the First World War.

The memorial has been rededicated in a prime position overlooking the Tyne in the grounds of St Mary’s Heritage Centre in the town. It was uncovered eight years ago in a corner of a Gateshead Council depot where it had lain forgotten for decades.

Sapper George Wood

After a public appeal for information, it was identified as a memorial from the former Park Terrace Presbyterian Church in Gateshead, which was demolished in 1964. When soldiers of the Royal Engineers – whose 72 Regiment received the Freedom of the Borough of Gateshead in 2011 – found out that one of the soldiers on the memorial, sapper George Wood, had belonged to their regiment, they volunteered to create a memorial garden at the St Mary’s Centre, with the stone as centrepiece.

Sapper Wood lived in Alston Terrace in Bensham, Gateshead, and was working in 1911 as a marine fitter. In August 1915, he enlisted in Newcastle in the Royal Engineers and was killed in action, aged 26, near Armentieres in France in September 1915.

Symbolic value

‘George Wood was an ordinary man from a street in Gateshead. We don’t even have a photograph of him,’ said memorial project co-ordinator Ednie Wilson.

‘But he is everyman. He symbolises every mother’s son, everybody’s brother.

‘He was one of the thousands who signed up in the days of the outbreak of the war in what we know was glorious summer sunshine.

‘We can only thank whoever had the presence of mind not to demolish the memorial stone along with the church in 1964.’

The memorial project has been backed by a grant of £9,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund through its First World War Then and Now programme.

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La Grand Guerre at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Posted on May 12, 2014 by DH

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The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge is marking the Centenary of the First World War with an exhibition entitled: La Grande Guerre: French prints of the First World War.

The display comprises 36 colour lithographs and woodcuts from the print series La Grande Guerre, produced in the first few months of the conflict.

Published in Paris, the series took inspiration from popular genres of prints, such as the inexpensive folklore inspired images d’Épinal, produced in Épinal in the northeast of France.

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Propaganda in 1914

Many 1914-era prints were produced in this style, as they could capture the nation’s role in the war in an inherently French way.

The stylised imagery helped maintain an element of distance from the increasingly appalling reality of the Western Front. Intense battle scenes are joined by images depicting relatively quiet moments in the front line, including English and Scottish troops taking a tea break and Indian soldiers at prayer.

The prints are not official propaganda material, but are still very patriotic and the numbered series format encouraged the public, eager to commemorate the war, to continue collecting the set.

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History of 1914-1915

The prints will be shown in chronological order, so that visitors to the gallery can experience a retelling of events from the perspective of France, from the taking of the first flag during the Battle of Saint-Blaise La Roche (14 August 1914) to the Fall of Przemyśl (22 March 1915).

The exhibition is the first in a series of displays at the Fitzwilliam from 2014 to 2018 commemorating the Centenary of World War 1.

The display runs from 20 May to 28 September 2014 and admission is free.

To find out more about La Grande Guerre at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, click here.

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Duke of Cambridge backs Football Remembers project

Posted on May 11, 2014 by DH

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The Duke of Cambridge has announced his support for Football Remembers, a national commemoration that will mark the centenary of the Christmas Truce in 1914.

Professional, amateur and school football teams will join in a series of activities between now and December 2014.

A Football Remembers education pack will be sent to more than 30,000 schools across the UK through the British Council. It includes resources to help children learn about the Truce – including eye-witness accounts, photos, drawings and letters from soldiers. The pack includes perspectives from British, French, Belgian, German and Indian witnesses.

The Duke of Cambridge said: ‘The British Council, together with The FA, Premier League and Football League, have put together a tremendous resource for use in the classroom and at home. It promises to be a powerful way to engage and educate young people about such an important moment in our history. We all grew up with the story of soldiers from both sides putting down their arms on Christmas Day, and it remains wholly relevant today as a message of hope over adversity, even in the bleakest of times.’

The Duke of Cambridge is also backing another Football Remembers project, with schools and football academies designing a memorial to the Truce. The permanent memorial will be built at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The winning design will be chosen by The Duke and Arsenal and England forward Theo Walcott. The memorial will be formally unveiled in December.

For more about Football Remembers, click here.

For a first hand account of the Christmas Truce, click here. 

 

 

 

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WW1 exhibition comes to London Transport Museum

Posted on May 8, 2014 by DH
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A London bus conductress in her uniform around 1918

Goodbye Piccadilly – from Home Front to Western Front will open at the London Transport Museum on 16 May 2014.

The exhibition will tell the story of Londoners during the First World War and will consider how the conflict affected ordinary men and women.

It will focus, for example, on how London buses were taken to the Western Front to transport troops; how women became a key part of the capital’s transport workforce and how citizens endured air attack and the possibility of sudden death.

At the centre of the exhibition will be ‘Ole Bill’, a 1911 bus on loan from the Imperial War Museum that saw service in France and Flanders.

Also on show will be recruitment posters, wartime memorabilia and a female bus conductor’s uniform.

To find out more about Goodbye Piccadilly – from Home Front to Western Front, click here.

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Ole Bill bus – formerly a troop carrier on the Western Front

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Ceramic poppies to fill Tower of London’s moat

Posted on May 7, 2014 by DH

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The Tower of London moat is due to planted with 888,246 ceramic poppies as part of Britain’s First World War Centenary commemorations.

The poppies are being created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, who says he was inspired by the writings of a soldier from Derbyshire who was killed during the First World War.

‘He wrote, when everyone he knew was dead and everywhere around him was covered in blood, jumped out at me: “The blood-swept lands and seas of red, where angels fear to tread.” I believe he meant the angels to refer to his children.’

The poppies will cover the 16 acres of the Tower’s moat and each will represent a British or Commonwealth soldier who died between 1914 and 1921 – the dates taking into account those who survived the war only to succumb to wounds after its end.

Volunteers will plant the poppies in the fortnight preceding 5 August, the centenary of the first full day of Britain’s engagement in the war.

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Men of the 10th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, in Flanders. April, 1917.

The Tower of London at war

The Tower’s moat was used as a training area during the First World War primarily by men of the 10th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, known as the ‘Stockbrokers’ Battalion’ because it contained a large number of accountants, bankers, lawyers and other City workers.

The men also called themselves the Ditchers, because of their initial training in the moat. The battalion was sent to France in July 1915, and would suffer heavy casualties at major battles such as the Somme and Ypres.

An exhibition at the Tower this summer will focus on its wartime role, in particular its use as a place of execution –11 German spies captured by the British during the First World War were here.

Despite this, the Tower remained open as a tourist attraction for the duration of the war.

The poppies will remain in place from 5 August until 11 November, and will then be sold for £25 each, which it is hoped will raise more than £15m for service charities.

For more on the work of Paul Cummins, click here.

 

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War Horse screening marks Centenary at National Memorial Arboretum

Posted on May 7, 2014 by DH

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An outdoor screening of Stephen Spielberg’s film War Horse will be held at the National Memorial Arboretum on 22 July as part of the centre’s commemorations of the Centenary of the First World War.

The event follows the recent visit to the Arboretum of 93-year-old Dorothy Ellis, whose husband, Wilfred Ellis, inspired the original War Horse novel by Michael Morpurgo.

Magnificent surroundings

Sarah Montgomery, managing director of the Arboretum, said: ‘The screening of War Horse is a wonderful addition to our diverse First World War Centenary commemorative programme.

‘This will be the first occasion where members of the public can enjoy the magnificent surroundings of the National Memorial Arboretum at dusk. Visitors will be watching a fantastic war-time film within feet of the floodlit Armed Forces Memorial in the First World War Centenary year.’

To find out more about the event and how to buy tickets, click here.

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Duke of Kent visits CWGC sites in Bulgaria

Posted on May 6, 2014 by DH

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HRH the Duke of Kent, president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), visited Bulgaria recently to attend a ceremony to remember the fallen of the First World War.

The Duke travelled to CWGC sites in Sofia and Plovdiv and said: ‘In this year of commemorations, as we mark the Centenary of the First World War, it becomes increasingly important that we remember the sacrifices made by servicemen and women all over the globe.

‘Maintaining the graves to the highest possible standards is our task, but it is only possible with the generous support of our Commonwealth partners and our host countries. We are, therefore, extremely grateful to them and to President Plevneliev and the people of Bulgaria, who do so much to facilitate our work of commemorating the war dead in the Republic of Bulgaria.’

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Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to attend WW1 remembrance event in Belgium

Posted on May 6, 2014 by DH

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Buckingham Palace has announced the role members of the British Royal Family are taking in commemorating the Centenary of the First World War in 2014.

HRH The Duke of Cambridge, accompanied by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, will attend a service of remembrance hosted by the Government of Belgium at Liege. The pair will subsequently travel to St Symphorien Military Cemetery, near Mons in Belgium, for a UK commemorative event.

Royal Family appearances

In addition, Her Majesty The Queen will attend a service of commemoration at Crathie Kirk in Scotland, while HRH The Duke of Edinburgh will attend a service of commemoration at Sandringham Church in Norfolk.

The Prince of Wales will attend a national service of commemoration for the Commonwealth in Glasgow, followed by a wreath laying in George Square.

HRH Prince Henry of Wales will attend the ‘Step Short’ commemorative event in Folkestone. He will subsequently join The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at St Symphorien.

HRH The Duke of Gloucester, accompanied by HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, will attend a service of commemoration in Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff.

For more information on the British Royal Family’s role in commemorating the Centenary of the First World War, click here.

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WW1 memorial plaque found in Liverpool garden

Posted on May 2, 2014 by DH

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A First World War memorial plaque has been unearthed in a garden in Liverpool.

The plaque was formerly in St Peter’s Church in the Toxteth area of the city and was found in the garden of its former caretaker.

Several of the names on it are not recorded in the city’s Hall of Remembrance.

Place in history

Liverpool Lord Mayor Gary Millar said the discovery would allow the men listed to ‘take their rightful place in the history books’.

The plaque lists 16 men, five of whom – William Ashplant, Samuel R Clarke, James Clunas, Harry Thistlewood and E Kingston Fleming – were not included in the hall, which honours those who died in two world wars.

It is believed the plaque was taken from the church for safekeeping some time before 2007, when the church and its land were sold to make way for residential properties.

Millar said he wanted the families of the men to come forward and claim their relatives’ place in the hall.

‘It is all too easy to forget the sacrifices made by those who fought for our freedom but this is the perfect opportunity for relatives to do their duty, come forward and ensure the names of all of these men live on.’

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Berkshire VC winner to have Reading statue

Posted on May 1, 2014 by DH

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A statue to commemorate a VC winning British cavalryman is to be erected in the centre of Reading, Berkshire.

It will depict trooper Fred Potts of the Berkshire Yeomanry dragging a wounded comrade, trooper Arthur Andrews, to safety on a shovel during fighting at Gallipoli in 1915.

Informative memorial to VC winner

Richard Bennett, chairman of the Trooper Potts VC Trust, said: ‘We will be able to create a memorial, and a significant piece of public art, that is informative, will be seen clearly, provide space for reflection and draw people to this area.

‘The centrepiece will be the sculpture, by Tom Murphy, of Trooper Potts VC and Trooper Andrews. The design of the Roll of Honour is inspired by the simplicity and accessibility of the 2012 Titanic Memorial in Belfast.

‘We now project the cost at £150,000, the £74,000 already raised represents just under 50 per cent of the required funds.’

The memorial is to be completed in phases with information boards and the Roll of Honour recording the names of around 400 local men who lost their lives in the First World War scheduled to be in place by March 2015, the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign. The sculpture itself is due to be in place by September 2015, prior to the centenary of the rescue on Sunday 4 October 4 2015.

To read more about the Trooper Potts VC Trust, click here.

 

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