‘Battle’s Over’ beacon to be lit at St Albans Remembrance Day Service
A beacon is being lit during St Albans Remembrance Day Service for Battle’s Over – A Nation’s Tribute, commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War.
It will be one of hundreds of Beacons of Light being lit across the country at 7pm on Sunday 11 November.
The evening service will bring to an end a day of events in St Albans organised as part of the national tribute to the millions killed and wounded in battle.
St Albans Cathedral and St Albans Museum + Gallery will be illuminated in red during the evening to mark 100 years since the day the guns fell silent.
‘There But Not There’ Tommy silhouettes, representing the fallen, will also be on display at both locations as well as at the war memorial near St Peter’s Church.
The day-long commemorations begin at 6am with a lone piper playing ‘When the Battle’s O’er’ at the West End of St Albans Cathedral. Nationwide, 1,000 pipers will play this traditional tune just before dawn breaks, heralding the start of the ‘Battle’s Over, A Nation’s Tribute’.
Everyone is then invited to join the Mayor of the City and District of St Albans to mark the two-minute silence at 11am at the war memorial near St Peter’s Church. This will be an informal gathering at the war memorial at the top of St Peters’ Street, with no road closures.
The commemoration will culminate in the evening with the annual St Albans Remembrance Day Service and Parade, timed to coincide with the national beacon lighting.
Large poppies are being tied to lamp posts along St Peter’s Street ready for the Remembrance Day Parade which will start outside the former BHS store from 6.30pm. The parade will then proceed to the war memorial near St Peter’s Church for the beginning of the multi-faith remembrance service at 6.45pm.
Representatives from HMS St Albans, the Royal British Legion, air, sea and army cadets, the Guiding and Scout movements and the police will take part in the parade. They will be joined by Honorary Aldermen, Councillors from County, District, Town and Parish Councils and leaders of the main faiths. The Mayor of the City and District of St Albans, Cllr Rosemary Farmer, will also attend, dressed in official robes, and accompanied by her Macebearer.
The Mayor said:
Join us for the Remembrance Service and Parade on 11 November. We will be remembering the servicemen and women who have lost their lives or were injured while serving in the forces.
In particular this year, we will be marking the day when the guns fell silent 100 years ago at the end of the First World War. It is important to remember the sacrifice of the millions of people who gave up their lives for their country or who were wounded in the Great War.
To begin the service, a bugler from St Albans Scouts dressed in period costume will sound the ‘All Clear’.
During the service, tea-lights representing the soldiers from St Albans who lost their lives in the First World War will be extinguished. St Albans Rocks and the Royal British Legion are also creating a line of poppy rocks in remembrance of the City’s fallen for a display at the war memorial.
St Peter’s Choir will be singing during the service and pupils from Heathlands School for deaf children will be signing ‘I vow to thee my Country’ for the service.
The beacon lighting at 7pm will then mark the start of a national two-minute silence to remember those who were killed or wounded in battle during the First World War.
There will also be another beacon lighting in St Albans at Highfield Park in Highfield Lane at the same time.
A whole host of events are being held over the next few weeks in St Albans District to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War and to mark Remembrance Sunday.
They include a poppy rock painting session hosted by St Albans Rocks and the Royal British Legion on Wednesday, 31 October at the Methodist Church at Marlborough Road. Everyone is welcome to pop in to paint a rock for the Remembrance Sunday display. There will be a nominal fee of £2 to take part in the event which runs 10am to 1pm and includes cake and tea.
Other events include the installation of a commemorative bench at the Verdun Tree in Wax House Gate in time for Remembrance Sunday.
Details of other events are at: https://www.enjoystalbans.com/
The Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City and District of St Albans, Councillor Rosemary Farmer
Contact for the Mayor’s office:
Alison Orde, the Mayor’s Civic Officer
Tel: 01727 819544
Email: mayoralty@stalbans.gov.uk
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson
Senior Communications Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317
E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
Logo: St Albans Remembers