100 Years Since Armistice
2018 marks 100 years since the end of conflict – a year to remember the bravery of those who fought, lived and died in the First World War.
At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, hostilities ceased, and guns finally fell silent marking the end of the First World War.
Over 800,000 British military personnel lost their lives, in what is ranked as one of the deadliest conflicts in human history.
One hundred years on, Armistice Day falls fittingly on Remembrance Sunday. The day and the months leading up to it will be filled with events across the length and breadth of the country, giving thanks for peace and honouring and remembering the bravery and sacrifice of those who went to war and did not make it home.
Special events and exhibitions are taking place throughout the year. The Imperial War Museum’s Making a New World explores how the First World War has shaped the society we live in today. A special service held at Amiens Cathedral in France in August marked the Battle of Amiens and the ‘Hundreds Days Offensive’; a major turning point in the final year of the war.
There But Not There is a nationwide installation for the Fallen, featuring the ghostly silhouette of a rile-bearing Tommy, which built on the outstanding success of 2014’s ceramic poppy project, which saw 888,246 poppies flood the Tower of London. The centenary was also commemorated in a spectacular virtual reality experience which saw Anna Meridith, an award winning Scottish musician and composer, join forces with 59 Productions for BBC Proms’ curtain opener at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
It included a 7-minute immersive experience inspired by the ‘field postcard’, and 25-minutes direct from the Royal Albert Hall featuring Anna’s recently premiered Five Telegrams. And among many other events, the BBC have been broadcasting a range of content to mark them centenary of 1918, inviting the nation to come together as we remember our ancestors and the British soldiers who fought.
Silhouette Army
There But Not There is a nationwide community project being led by the charity Remembered marking the centenary of the final year of the First World War.
The captivating and imaginative campaign has seen installations of seated silhouettes in communities around the country wherever there is a roll honour, taking names of memorial walls and returning them to the spaces they left behind.
Hundreds of communities have taken part already ahead of the remembrance period. As well as these silhouettes, 6ft Tommie’s designed by Kent based artist Martin Barraud, have appeared across the country as councils, local groups and private companies have come together to commemorate the end of the First World War.
While the Tommie’s provide an opportunity for communities to come together and remember those that gave their lives a century ago, Remembered are also selling smaller Perspex silhouettes to the public, with profits from the sales being donated to six military-related charities which help the soldiers of today, including Help for Heroes and the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.
McCarthy Stone are proud sponsors of the There But Not There project marking the centenary of the Great War one hundred years on.
