Littlehampton marking Remembrance Day 2018 in its own way

There is a lot to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War in and around the town in order that we can all choose to mark remembrance in our own ways.

Littlehampton Town Council has chosen to do this with a number of initiatives to commemorate this, including four new benches which have been positioned at the town war memorial featuring the striking poppy design. A further bench has also been installed by the Wick Village Traders in a matching design.

Arun District Council has commissioned a wooden sculpture of a lone soldier, in remembrance of his fallen comrades. It has been carved from oak by local artist Simon Groves and can be seen at the war memorial end of Caffyns Field.

Littlehampton Museum is showing a themed display titled ‘When I have done my bit’. This is part of a nationwide commemoration of the end of the First World War, and will see the museum exploring how the town and its residents fared in the final years of the war, and looking at how they chose to remember the fallen, and celebrate peace.

The exhibition also includes original documents and items from the museum’s collection, alongside fascinating loans from the Royal Sussex Regiment Museum, which will be displayed until December 21.

|Also in the news - the Gazette has compiled a list of names of those servicemen from the Littlehampton area who lost their lives during the Great War; a Littlehampton hairdresser has opened her own salon at the age of 23; and three robbers threatened staff and stole around £1,500 from the KFC in Goring}|

The museum and volunteers have also produced a book of the same title containing images from the collections of the museum. These can be purchased for £3 and all profits will go to veterans charities.

Other exhibitions that are taking place around the town include the giant poppy handmade from plastic bottles by more than 350 children at the Look and Sea before it closed. This will be on display at the Guide Centre and will be lit every Wednesday and Friday evening for the public to see.

St Mary’s Church is going red for remembrance, glowing red in respect for those that lost their lives, it is also displaying a cascade of poppies knitted by a number of people in Littlehampton.

The church will also be hosting an installation funded by the town council in conjunction with the There But Not There national campaign which features a number of Perspex silhouetted soldiers as a moving tribute. The church will be open until 3pm on Saturday for you to view these displays first hand.

The Edwin James Festival Choir and Orchestra is presenting a Time for Remembrance concert at St James Church in East Ham Road on Saturday with performance commencing at 3pm. Tickets are available on the door, via the website or by calling 01243 582330, costing £10 for adults and £4 for children.

The traditional remembrance day parade and service and laying of wreaths at the war memorial followed by the civic service of remembrance at St Mary’s Church will take place on Sunday, as will a service for residents in Wick at their own memorial.

The town’s commemorations will end with the beacon lighting event at the Stage by the Sea which features a performance by the local sea cadets, the reading of the names of the fallen from the town’s war memorial, a tribute to the millions and the Last Post prior to the lighting of the beacon at 7pm as part of the national chain.

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