Marking the start of the Great War (From Salisbury Journal)
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Marking the start of the Great War
4:31pm Monday 7th January 2013 in Headlines By Elizabeth Kemble
SCHOOLS and community groups across Salisbury and the surrounding area are being invited to take part in the city’s centenary commemorations to mark the beginning of the First World War in 1914.
Coordinated by the Royal British Legion (RBL), the commemorations next year are to raise awareness of the “war to end all wars” and look at its impact on Salisbury and on those living in the area.
Organisers are hoping that schools will run projects, looking at what life was like in Salisbury in 1914 and researching the lives of those killed on the battlefield. They also hope community groups and organisations will become involved.
Salisbury RBL branch secretary Carlton Brown, whose uncle was killed in Gallipoli, said: “The Government has asked the legions to coordinate each community’s way of marking the centenary.
“We have been a military town for many, many years and there wasn’t a village or a house in the area that wasn’t touched in some way, shape or form by World War One.”
Part of the year’s programme of commemorations will involve a series of events and activities, with possible events including a candlelit procession on Christmas Eve to mark the first truce between British and German soldiers.
Salisbury City Council deputy clerk Annie Child said it was about raising awareness of the war and bringing the community together.
She said: “It gives the community an opportunity to work in an intergenerational way and provides a moment of reflection on what we have here in Salisbury - looking back at our past we will be able to see how we were linked together and that helps us understand how we are linked together now.”
The Salisbury RBL branch is now looking into funding and gathering a list of ideas on ways to mark the commemoration.
Any schools, groups or organisations interested in becoming involved in the 2014 commemorations are invited to contact Mr Brown on 01722 744152 or by emailing moonrakercarlton@hotmail.co.uk.
