Category Archives: war memorials

battlefields, commemoration, remembrance, schools, war memorials

Arras commemoration 2017

Leave a comment

In April 2017 a large group of Scottish secondary school pupils and teachers travelled to France to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Arras. This battle saw the biggest concentration of Scottish battalions and soldiers at any one battle during WW1, and the Scottish Government identified this as a key event to mark in the national WW1 commemorative programme.

The Scottish Commemoration Panel conceived the unique idea of having two participating pupils from every one of the 32 Scottish Local Authorities undertake a study visit to Arras, and with the support of local Councils achieved this truly national representation. Scottish Government contracted with Mercat Tours International to deliver this experience for the young people, and a very strong programme of activities was organised. The assistance of the Mayor of Arras enabled French pupils to join the commemorations.

The Scottish programme covered three intense days in France and Belgium, with guided visits to battlefield sites, cemeteries, memorials, and a museum in the underground tunnels beneath the city of Arras. A very moving service of commemoration was held at Faubourg d’Amiens cemetery in Arras, and Scottish military pipe bands performed a Beating the Retreat in the main square of the town that evening attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The young people learned a great deal about the history of the period and the contribution of Scottish soldiers to the western front campaigns. Frequently there were very moving experiences. Some pupils were able to trace the graves of relatives who died around Arras and make a very personal remembrance at the graveside.

The visit was a great success, and a video which features key elements from the trip will be made available online.

 

arts and music, battlefields, commemoration, film and TV, military, schools, war memorials

Battle of the Somme

Leave a comment

sommeThe Battle of the Somme was fought in northern France over 141 days in 1916, from 1st July to 18th November, in a series of bloody and costly actions on this small section of the Western Front. The centenary in 2016 will be marked by a number of commemorative events across the UK and in France itself.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport news release describes plans for commemorations at national and international levels, and encourages the development of local events. A high-level international commemorative event will take place at Thiepval Memorial in France on 1st July 2016, with participation by representatives of many nations.

In Scotland a national vigil service will be held at the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh through the night of 30th June / 1st July. In the coming months, other vigils will be staged at locations around Scotland organised by regimental associations and others to tie in with key dates and battles involving individual regiments.

New education resources will assist teachers who want to help their students learn about the nature and importance of this particular campaign. The National Army Museum resource includes a video about the battle; PowerPoint slides which offer photographs and images from 1916 with detailed captions, which can be re-used by teachers. (such as the image used in this blog post, by kind permission); and NAM also offers downloadable exhibition panels to which local material can be added. A British Council pack ‘Remembering the Battle of the Somme’ offers material for wider aspects of the fighting.

There are many online assets which cover aspects of the conflict. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has a dedicated Somme site. Imperial War Museum covers the history in text, images and audio. The BBC iWonder resource “Why was the Battle of the Somme film bigger than Star Wars” discusses the huge public appeal of a 1916 documentary film shown in cinemas, which has now been digitally re-produced and made available by Imperial War Museum for showings in local venues. A BBC news video clip describes one section of the tunnels under the battlefield.

 

 

 

 

 

 

commemoration, military, remembrance, war memorials

HMS Hampshire disaster, Orkney

Leave a comment

memorial marwick headOn 5th June 1916 warship HMS Hampshire struck a German mine off the coast of Orkney and sank with the loss of 737 men. Only 12 sailors survived.

This weekend commemorative events were held at Marwick Head, close to the site on which the ship sank, to mark the centenary of the loss and the deaths of so many men. The Orcadian published a report.

The wreck made national news at the time partly because of the presence on board of Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, travelling to Russia on a diplomatic mission to meet with Britain’s Russian allies.

After the war a memorial was constructed on the headland overlooking the sea, but it focused solely on Kitchener and was named after him. To mark the centenary, and respond to the need to commemorate all the men who died in the sinking, the memorial has been refurbished and a new wall built around it with plaques naming all the victims.

A Scotsman article reports that a book to be published later this year will offer fresh information about the history of the HMS Hampshire disaster.

 

 

battlefields, commemoration, military, war memorials

Battle of Jutland – commemorations 2016

Leave a comment

hms malayaCommemorative events to mark the centenary of the 1916 Battle of Jutland are now complete, and attracted great interest from the public. Events in May and June 2016 were focused in 3 particular locations: Orkney (the base for the British Grand Fleet); the Forth (and the naval base at Rosyth); and in the North Sea on the Jutland Bank.

A BBC news story  and a Guardian article describe the activities at the different memorial sites, including the ceremonies in Orkney at St.Magnus Cathedral and at Lyness cemetery, which were shown on TV.

The photograph shows a memorial cross in Lyness Cemetery dedicated to the men who lost their lives on H.M.S Malaya.

 

Further stories on the web add extra dimensions to the story of this great naval battle. A Daily Record article tells the personal story of a war grave gardener in Glasgow who discovered that a grandfather had fought at Jutland. A Glasgow University project blog post describes how medical staff at Jutland treated battle casualties.

The Scottish Commemorations Panel  has produced a booklet ‘The War at Sea 1914-1918’, which was distributed among people attending public events. It will be made available online shortly.

 

 

 

commemoration, military, remembrance, war memorials

Quintinshill rail disaster

Leave a comment

Commemorative events have been held to mark the centenary of a 1915 rail crash at Quintinshill near Gretna, Dumfriesshire, Britain’s worst ever rail disaster. The collision of 3 trains killed more than 200 people, most of them soliders of a Leith-based 1/7 Battalion of the Royal Scots who were travelling down to Liverpool to catch a troopship to the fighting around Gallipoli. Our new World War One microsite provides details and links.

The commemorations took place in three locations connected to the crash: At Larbert, where the soldiers joined their train for the journey south; at Quintinshill near the crash site; and at Rosebank Cemetery in Leith, where so many of the dead troops were buried.

A BBC TV news story “Quintinshill: a terrible day for the regiment” provides further reporting. Coverage in national and local media included this story in the Sunday Post about the impact on one family in East Lothian.

In the Edinburgh Pilmeny area a local project to ‘Remember the Leith Battalion’ ran activities to include young people in the commemorations; these included poppy stencils on pavements on the route to the cemetery; a ‘Tree of Life’ display at the local Drill Hall, and a stained glass window.

A new theatre production, “Persevere“, was also staged by local drama groups. The play is based on local soldiers, their farewells, and the impact of the deaths and injuries in the community.

A service was also held at Carlisle Station, as some of the train crew came from the Carlisle area and many of the wounded were taken to hospital in the city.

BBC TV screened a documentary about the crash, “Britain’s deadliest rail disaster”, presented by historian Neil Oliver.

The BBC also published an iWonder online resource about the tragedy.

competitions, schools, war memorials

War Memorials competition for Primary schools

Leave a comment

The Royal British Legion Scotland has launched a competition for P6 and P7 pupils, encouraging them to research their local war memorial which commemorates the sacrifice of First World War combatants. This forms part of RBLS work to mark the centenary of the start of the Great War next year.

Pupils are asked to record key information from their chosen memorial in their town or village; to research the stories behind the people and WW1 battles associated with the memorial; and to create a multimedia presentation about their findings.

The winning students will receive a trophy for their school and individual medals, and will travel to London to ‘Kip-on-a-ship’; an overnight stay in warship HMS Belfast on the Thames, one of the outposts of the Imperial War Museum.

Full details of this competition are available from the RBLS website Competition pages. Schools must register their interest, and the final deadline for submitting entries is the 3rd March 2014.

Many Scottish teachers have already started to help their pupils learn about World War One, the contributions made by Scots and the impacts on Scottish society. This competition will complement learning about a key period of Scottish history.

Teachers who are new to supporting pupil learning on this topic may find helpful several guides produced for schools. The Western Front Association offers a resource titled ‘A First World War war memorial study’, and the War Memorials Trust has a dedicated website titled ‘learn about war memorials’.