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Remembrance Sunday - UK Museums Remember The Fallen
By David Prudames
07/11/2003
Image: Shows a black and white photograph of a column of marching soldiers.
Photo: men of the 10th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, returning from the trenches.
On November 11, 1918 at 11.00am, the guns finally fell silent on a war that had lasted four years and destroyed an entire generation.
The Great War of 1914-18 was so ferocious it became known as ‘the war to end all wars’ and the observation of two-minutes of silence at 11.00am on November 11 was adopted as a way to remember what happened.
But, of course, it didn’t end all wars. The second Sunday of November is dedicated to the commemoration of subsequent conflicts from the Second World War, to Korea, Northern Ireland, the Falklands and more recently the Persian Gulf.
This year Remembrance Sunday is on November 9 and up and down the country people will reflect on the sacrifice made by service men and women from Britain and the Commonwealth.
So too, museums will be marking the occasion, offering the perfect opportunity to learn about what happened and providing a suitable place to reflect and remember.
Photo: Remembrance Sunday, 2001, Brighton. © Jon Pratty.
At the Imperial War Museum, Duxford a two-minute silence at 11.00am will be followed by a Service of Remembrance at 12.15pm and entry to the institution will be free all day.
"We very much hope that people will take this opportunity to come and explore IWM Duxford on the day when the British and Commonwealth dead of both world wars and subsequent conflicts, including Iraq, are remembered," explained Frank Crosby from the museum.
"Wherever possible, our larger exhibits are complemented by smaller, personal items from letters and diaries to, perhaps the most poignant of all, a simple pair of British Army boots worn by an unknown soldier during the First World War. These serve to remind us that, no matter how technologically advanced warfare may become, wars are still fought by people."
Up in Manchester, at the Imperial War Museum, North, visitors on Sunday will be invited to contribute personal memories and messages to a public sculpture.
Locally-based community artist Fiona Smith will co-ordinate a giant display of black, white and grey poppies, reflecting the different colours of the Commonwealth.
Image: Shows a photograph of the exterior of the Imperial War Museum North.
Photo: Imperial War Museum North from Salford Quays. Photo Len Grant. © Len Grant.
"We hope that everyone, from veterans and grandparents, to grandchildren and their friends, will feel that they can come along and contribute to the Poppyfields sculpture," said Nicola Lynch, Visitor Programmes Officer at IWM North.
"Visitors’ personal messages and memories will be put together to make a series of giant poppies. We want to illustrate how conflict has an impact on everyone’s life in some way."
Across the Pennines at Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington, a service at the village church will also commemorate the French Squadrons based there from May 1944, suffering 200 losses.
Local resident and French war veteran, Paul Deligne will be presented with the Chevalier de l’Orde National du Merite. The award is in recognition of his work forging links between the museum and groups in France through the Old Comrades Association of the Elvington French Veterans.
At the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, the whole of November has been dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in service of their country.
Photo: Remembrance Sunday, 2001, Brighton. © Jon Pratty.
Remembrance Sunday will be marked with a two-minute silence, while a short ceremony attended by the Prince of Wales’ Own Regiment will commemorate Armistice Day on November 11.
Back in London at the National Army Museum a weekend of special events has been organised from activities such as making poppies and wreaths, to a study day on November 8, which will look at lesser-known aspects of the Great War.
Remembrance Sunday will be marked by an Act of Remembrance and a bugle call from 11.00am.
Nancy Wake GM, one of the most decorated Allied servicewomen of the Second World War will be guest of honour at the Imperial War Museum on Remembrance Sunday.
As an SOE agent, Wake played an important and courageous role in the French Resistance and was dubbed ‘White Mouse’ by the Gestapo because of her elusiveness.
Image: Shows a black and white photograph of a a group of soldiers in a trench.
Photo: men of the 1st / 4th East Lancs in a sap-head at Givenchy, January 28, 1918.
At 11.00am the Band of the Brigade of the Gurkhas will sound the Last Post, followed by a recital of popular First and Second World War songs played on a violin made out of wood from trees growing on the battlefields of France and Flanders.
In the afternoon Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan-Maguire is set to give a talk called War or Peace: creating a new culture for children.
Down on the south coast at Southsea, the Royal Marines Museum is holding a Remembrance Service and will be offering free entry throughout the day.
While across town the D-Day Museum will also be throwing open its doors without charge, in honour of Remembrance Sunday.
Of course, this is just a brief rundown of some of the museums that will be holding special events to mark the day. You should contact your local museum to find out how Remembrance Sunday will be honoured in your area.
Yorkshire Air Museum
Halifax Way, Elvington, York, YO41 4AU, North Yorkshire, England
T: 01904 608 595
Open: Daily. 10am - 5pm Summer. 10am - 3.30pm Winter (Times change according to British Summer Time).
Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Closed: Christmas Day and Boxing Day
Imperial War Museum London
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London, SE1 6HZ, England
Open: Open daily, 10.00-18.00
Closed: Closed 24-26 December
Imperial War Museum North
Imperial War Museum North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park, Manchester, M17 1TZ, England
Open: Open every day, 10.00 - 18.00
(November - February 10.00 - 17.00)
Closed: Closed December 24-26
Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridge, CB22 4QR, Cambridgeshire, England
Open: Winter 10.00am - 4.00pm
Summer (mid March - mid October inclusive) 10.00am - 6.00pm (last admission 5.15pm)
Closed: 24, 25 and 26 December
Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds
Royal Armouries Museum, Armouries Drive, Leeds, LS10 1LT, Yorkshire, England
Open: Daily 1000-1700
Closed: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
National Army Museum
Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4HT, England
T: 020 7730 0717 ext. 2210 / 2235
Open: Daily 1000-1730
Closed: 24-26 December, 1 January, Good Friday, early May bank holiday.
Royal Marines Museum
Royal Marines Museum, Southsea, PO4 9PX, Hampshire, England
Open: Daily 1000-1700 throughout the year
Open Bank holidays
Closed: Closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day
D-Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery, Portsmouth
D-Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery, Clarence Esplanade, Southsea, Portsmouth, PO5 3NT, Hampshire, England
Open: April-October:
Daily 10.00-17.30, last entry 17.00
November-March:
Daily 10.00-17.00, last entry 16.30
Closed: 24-26 December
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