New Milton The Centenary of the end of the First World War

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1 New Milton 2018 The Centenary of the end of the First World War New Milton Town Council, along with a number of community organisations in the New Milton parish, have planned a host of community events and activities to commemorate the 100 th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Silent Soldiers New Milton Town Council has enthusiastically embraced the Royal British Legion Thank You 100 th anniversary campaign, featuring Silent Soldier Silhouettes. Support for the campaign in New Milton has been incredible, with 18 silhouettes now standing in silent tribute around the town, thanks to generous donations from the local community. The silhouettes include Tommy Soldiers, Seaman, Airman, Commonwealth Soldier, Suffragette and Nurse - all of them adding reflection and poignancy to the town s wildflower areas, gateways to the town, the War Memorial on the Recreation Ground, and Indian War Memorial at Barton on Sea. The Silhouettes will remain in place until the end of the year. 1

2 Indian Memorial Obelisk Commemorative Event The Indian Memorial Obelisk stands proudly as a Grade II listed monument at Barton on Sea, inscribed in both English and Urdu: This Memorial is erected to commemorate the establishment at Barton on Sea in 1914 of the Convalescent Depot for Indian Troops who fought in Europe during the Great War and was subscribed for by members of the staff. New Milton Town Council hosted a commemorative occasion on 10 July 2018, inviting the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, together with Indian and Pakistan embassy officials, representatives from the Sikh Council, local school children, the local community and other uniformed representatives, attending a service and blessing at the Obelisk; followed by an afternoon tea on a beautiful sunny summer s day, looking out to sea across to the Isle of Wight. One of the highlights of this very special day was the presentation of a Kirpan Sword to the council from the Sikh Council Hampshire. 2

3 A Heritage Board depicting the WW1 history of the area was unveiled by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson Esq, and the Indian High Commission Military Adviser, Brigadier Krishnan, and is on permanent display at the Obelisk site. On Sunday 11 November 2018 at 1500 hours, New Milton Town Mayor, Cllr David Rice-Mundy will lay a wreath at the Indian Memorial Obelisk. Number 60 to The Somme In October, local amateur dramatics society, The New Forest Players, will be honouring the hundredth anniversary of the Armistice and all those who served at home on the front with a production of No. 60 to the Somme, a completely new Great War story with wonderful Edwardian music hall songs by Greg Mosse and Carol Godsmark. The event will take place October 2018 at the Ballard School Performing Arts Centre. Giant Poppies Following on from the launch of the RBL Poppy Appeal every year, and this year on Friday 26 October 2018, the New Milton Branch of the Royal British Legion provide giant poppies which New Milton Town Council respectively place around the town, including on lamp columns in the high street, the War Memorial on the Recreation Ground and the Indian Memorial Obelisk. 3

4 Pack up Your Troubles Concert On Saturday 3 November 2018, there will be a commemorative concert recalling what New Milton was like during The Great War through the medium of music, song, poetry, sketches, and culminating in a grand Last Night of the Proms finale led by the New Forest Orchestra. New Milton Lions Club and New Milton Residents Association have worked together with support from New Milton Town Council and Hampshire County Council to bring this event to the people. Produced by local people and performed by local people The Memorial Centre in New Milton will host the event with tickets now already sold out! During the performance the names of all 83 Miltonians killed in action during WW1 will be read out in honour of their ultimate sacrifice. 4

5 Armistice Day Sunday 11 November 2018 The Annual Remembrance Day parade, under the direction of the Parade Marshall, Town Cllr Goff Beck, will set off at 1030 hours being led by the Meridian Corps of Drums towards the War Memorial on the Recreation Ground ready for the 2 minutes silence at 1100 hours. The wreathlaying ceremony will be overseen by New Milton Town Clerk, Graham Flexman, with Reverend Andrew Bailey conducting the service. The Exhortation and Kohima will be read out as well as the Last Post and Reveille sounded. This event has always been well supported by the community, come rain or shine, and is expected to be so again this year being the Armistice centenary year. It is likely to be attended by many people. The New Milton War Memorial features the names of Miltonians killed in action during both WW1 and WW2, and other conflicts are noted. We Will Remember Them 5

6 Battle s Over A Nation s Tribute New Milton, along with more than 1,000 cities, towns and villages across the UK, will commemorate the end of hostilities of WW1 with a community event starting at 1800 hours along the clifftop at Barton on Sea. This is a free to attend event on Sunday 11 November 2018, promising to be a wonderful evening for all the family to participate and enjoy, with a Marching Band and parade, exhibition and displays of the period , climaxing in a Beacon lighting ceremony at 1900 hours. All profits from the Pack up Your Troubles concert and the Battle s Over Ceremony will be donated to SSAFA, Royal British Legion and RAF Benevolent Fund 6

7 WW1 and WW2 Commemorative Benches David Ogilvie Engineering is unique in the business of street and park furniture and New Milton are delighted to have two decorative wrought-iron commemorative benches in the Recreation Ground. The benches were purchased by New Milton Town Council in remembrance of WW1 and the other bench for WW2. The benches are extremely comfortable and afford a good view of the War Memorial and all the activities taking place on the Recreation Ground How the final year of the Great War affected our community Nick Saunders is Chairman of the Milton Heritage Society, and being the local historian extraordinaire, will present a talk on New Milton The Impact of World War 1. This talk being held at New Milton Memorial Hall will review how WW1 and the events in 1918 had a major impact on our district saw the highest number of casualties in a single year of the whole war for our town. It will also look at the bigger picture of world events in the last months of the war, some of which have shaped the world we live in today. Milton Parish recorded 83 casualties in World War One resulting in the deaths of brothers, sons, fathers, uncles. These names are recorded on the War Memorial. Nick Saunders will present his talk on Friday 9 November Further information from 7

8 New Milton Advertiser & Times Newspaper In support of the town s efforts, the local newspaper will dedicate the edition of 9 th November to the Nations Remembrance and WW1 centenary, highlighting stories and events, with a poppy to be featured on the front page. Carol Service A Carol from Flanders New Milton Town Mayor, Cllr David Rice-Mundy, will host the annual carol service at St Mary Magdalene Church on Saturday 1 December La Nova Singers and New Forest Children s Choir will perform at the service, as well as harmoniously boosting the congregations efforts throughout the service. An order of service has been produced to instil the joy and celebration of Christmas. At the start of the service, a reading of A Carol from Flanders will be performed by a pupil from Ballard School, allowing reflection, and adding a touch of remembrance of all those who served and sacrificed during World War 1. Other Events New Milton Library will be encouraging library visitors to get creative in the name of Remembrance and make poppies, coloured red, purple or white, from felt, card and paper instructions will be provided! These handcrafted poppies will then be laid as part of the wreath-laying ceremony at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday. There will also be a mannequin wearing a WW1 nurse s uniform on display on the ground floor of the Library from October Tanks in the First World War will be the topic of a presentation by Stuart Wheeler of The Tank Museum given to the Men s Get Together Group. The talk will take place on Thursday 1 November Further details from 8