Ilkeston - Armistice 100
w/e 11 November 2018
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Kodak DX6490
An armistice is an agreement made by opposing sides
in a war to stop fighting and there must have been much rejoicing
at the end of the First World War on November 11th 1918. In the
following years it soon became a much more sombre event as Remembrance
Sunday was instituted to recall all those who had given their
lives during the conflict never to return to their homes and
families. This year on the 100th anniversary of the 1918 Armistice
the people of Ilkeston showed solidarity with millions of other
people not just in the United Kingdom but all around the world,
as they came together to commemorate and remember all those fallen
heroes.
As would be expected public buildings and sites were at the forefront
of the commemorations like here at the Erewash Museum where there
were displays both inside and outside the building.
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On Victoria Park the formal bed in front of the bandstand picked
out the words "Lest We Forget" with the dates "1918
- 2018" appropriately remembering the fallen surrounded
by fallen leaves.
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Services were held during the week preceding Armistice Day and
Remembrance Sunday which this year exactly 100 years after the
end of World War One fell on the same day at the various memorials
in the town. The Hallam Fields Memorial site was attended by
children from Hallam Fields Junior School as well as members
of the Royal British Legion and the general public.
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It's good that children are being taught about the wars and with
no-one who fought in the First World War now alive it's essential
that they learn of the futility of fighting and remember those
who gave their lives for our freedom. All of the schools in the
area have undertaken projects and at Hallam Field Junior School
this has also entailed creating a display in the school grounds.
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Pupils from Chaucer Junior School also attended a similar service
to the one at Hallam Fields at the War Memorial in Park Cemetery.
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They too did work in school and created displays for the grounds.
These included making poppies by recycling plastic bottles. A
sale of the poppies raised over £180 for the Royal British
Legion. Some of the poppies were purple to remember the animals
that were also lost during the War.
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A Remembrance Service was also held in Stanton Road Cemetery
which, although no longer in use as a burial ground, like Park
Cemetery contains a number of Commonwealth War Graves.
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It was not just public bodies and schools involved as many businesses
and shop owners also marked the centenary of the armistice with
window displays. Humble Rutland Cafe had their wall painted with
a mark of remembrance which achieved a lot of coverage on social
media but by the time I got there parked vehicles permitted only
a view from the side.
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Legs Wine Bar on South Street was another that commemorated the
event with a window display and was just one of many marking
the anniversary.
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The culmination of the anniversary came on Remembrance Sunday
with a service in St Mary's Church followed immediately with
the town's civic ceremony at the Cenotaph in the morning and
by the Battle's Over commemoration in the evening when beacons
were lit and the church bells rung.
 “They
shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning:
We will remember them.”
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