A series of events is underway to mark the 100th year since the First World War ended.
On Sunday 11th November the ending of World War I will be formally marked with a piper playing at 6am outside Sheffield Cathedral.
A service of remembrance will be held at the Sheffield Cenotaph, Barkers Pool with the South Yorkshire Police Band playing from 10.15am and the lighting of the Queen’s Jubilee Beacon at the Peace Gardens at 7pm.
It will be also the final day for World War I commemoration which has been on display in Weston Park since September.
The commemoration event at Weston Park, which is designated as a Fields in Trust Centenary Field, is a “Thank You” to those who fought and fell in the First World War, including hundreds of Sheffield PALS.
Fields in Trust will reveal the story of one Centenary Field each day in an online interactive map. The site can be accessed here and people can use the hashtags #CFLegacy #ThankYou100 to support online.
Memorial Tree events
Also culminating on Remembrance Day is the planting of 100 trees in 36 park sites across the city dedicated to soldiers who fought in the First World War.
The first was planted in Weston Park by veteran soldiers of the Second World War.
Following that, one large English oak tree will be established in 31 city and district parks while avenues of smaller lime trees were placed in Longley Park and Firth Park, Greenhill Park, Herdings Park, and the Cholera Monument.
Each of the planting locations is marked with a stone plinth and plaque.
Sheffield War and Peace
Sheffield Libraries are holding events until December revealing fascinating stories from Sheffield’s rich and complex history – from early Anglo-Saxons to the defense of Sheffield Castle, from Waterloo to rebuilding after the Sheffield Blitz.
The Central Library Reading Room will also be displaying objects, photographs and documents from their collections not usually available to view. All events are FREE but, unless otherwise stated, should be booked in advance.
Film: The Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of the Tank
As part of the centenary of the Armistice which ended the First World War, the Imperial War Museum has restored the original 1917 documentary film ‘The Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of the Tanks.’ This film will be screened in Diamond Building Lecture Theatre 1 at the University of Sheffield on Friday 23rd November 2018 at 6.30pm.
There But Not There
There But Not There aims to place a representative figure for as many as possible of the names on local war memorials, around the country, into their place of worship, their school, their workplace or wherever their absence was keenly felt. These transparent silhouettes will be back within their communities for Remembrance 2018, the centenary commemoration of the end of the 1914-1918 First World War.
National Festival Orchestra’s ‘Lest we forget’ centenary concert
To mark the centenary of the First World War, one of Sheffield Bach Choir’s performances this year with the National Festival Orchestra is ‘Lest we forget’. It takes place Saturday 17 November at Sheffield Cathedral from 7.30pm and with music by Jenkins, Blatchly and Elgar.
‘My Brother Dan’ – a modern and moving tribute
Local student Molly Meleady-Hanley wrote the poem entitled ‘My Brother Dan’ in commemoration of the Sheffield Pals. It was a winner in the 2017-18 Poetry and Art Competition (14-16 year category). The poem can be read online.
Never Such Innocence is an organisation that aims to engage children and young people across the world with the centenary of the First World War through poetry, art and song.