WW1 Related Events in the United Kingdom

Daily Act of Remembrance: Last Post & Reveille

Daily (except Christmas Day) at 11.00 hours

Millenium Chapel, National Memorial Arboretum, Croxall Road, Alrewas, Staffordshire DE13 7AR

Admission Free (There is a parking charge at the National Memorial Arboretum for cars maximum £3.00 per day - all parking fees go directly to the NMA charity.)

The Millenium Chapel of Peace and Forgiveness is the only place where a daily Act of Remembrance takes place in England. The National Memorial Arboretum is located in the centre of England at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire and is the place “Where our Nation Remembers”.

For further details see the National Memorial Arboretum website at:

Website: www.thenma.org Chapel

Annual National Act of Remembrance: Remembrance Sunday

10 November 2013, 11.00am

The Cenotaph, Parliament Street, Whitehall, London SW1

Free, public event with restricted access to the central area of the ceremony.

On the closest Sunday to 11^th November an official annual Service of Remembrance takes place at the Cenotaph in central London. Wreaths are laid by Her Majesty The Queen, members of the Royal Family, senior military leaders, politicians and representatives of the Commonwealth. Following the formal ceremony and wreath-laying The Royal British Legion co-ordinates a march past The Cenotaph which includes members of ex-Service organizations and civilian organizations which have played their part on the Home Front in wartime.

Services of Remembrance also take place at 11am on Remembrance Sunday around the United Kingdom at churches, war memorials and at The National Memorial Arboretum.

Annual Act of Remembrance: 11^th November

11 November 2013, 11.00am

Cenotaph, Parliament Street, Whitehall, London SW1

Organiser: The Western Front Association (WFA)

Free, public event.

The Western Front Association (WFA) holds an annual Ceremony of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, Whitehall on 11^th November.

Members of the public are warmly welcomed to view the ceremony.

Members of The Western Front Association may apply for tickets also to attend a Service of Remembrance and a lunch after the ceremony.

To see details for the 11^th November 2013 Ceremony see The Western Front Association website page at:

Website: www.westernfrontassociation.com WFA Annual Service of Remembrance 2013

WFA logo by kind permission of the WFA

Architecture of War

From 29^th July 2013

Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ, UK

Admission Free

During the major refurbishment of the Imperial War Museum, there will be a partial re-opening of the museum from 29^th July 2013.

This is an exhibition to explore how modern war has influenced and impacted on the spaces people inhabit. It brings together a selection of art from the Imperial War Museum's art collection from the First World War to the present day.

The Lord Ashcroft Gallery: “Extraordinary Heroes”

Re-opens from 29^th July 2013

Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ, UK

Admission Free

Imperial War Museum London will partially re-open during its major refurbishment programme. The Lord Ashcroft Gallery will be one of the galleries re-opening from summer 2013.

The gallery, paid for by a £5million donation from Lord Ashcroft, KCMG, houses the “Extraordinary Heroes” exhibition containing the world’s largest collection of Victoria Crosses (VCs), which has been established by Lord Ashcroft since 1986. The 162 awards, which range from the Crimean to the Falklands wars, are on public display alongside 48 VCs and 31 George Crosses (GCs) already held by the Museum. The VC is Britain and the Commonwealth’s premier award for extreme gallantry in the face of the enemy, while the GC is Britain’s most prestigious civil decoration.

Visitors to the Lord Ashcroft Gallery’s “Extraordinary Heroes” exhibition will discover the personal stories behind each decoration in a state-of-the-art new space filled with interactive touch-screens, multimedia platforms and original interpretation.

For information about The Victoria Cross go to our page about this special medal at:

British Gallantry Awards: The Victoria Cross

War Horse

Performances extended to February 2014

New London Theatre, Drury Lane, London

Website warhorseonstage.com

Tickets from £15.00

The award-winning smash hit War Horse is now playing at the New London Theatre. Based on a story by Michael Morpurgo.

The First World War is the backdrop for this tale of bravery, loyalty, and the extraordinary bond between a young recruit and his horse. Actors, working with astonishing life-sized puppets by the internationally renowned Handspring Puppet Company, take audiences on an unforgettable journey through history.

At the outbreak of World War One, Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France.

He's soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man's land.

But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to the trenches to find him and bring him home.

The book on which the play is based came about after Michael Morpurgo had a chance conversation in his local pub nearly 30 years ago with an old soldier who had been to the First World War as a 17 year old ‘with ‘orses’ as he said. He discovered that over a million horses died in that dreadful war – and that was just on the British side – and that most of them that survived were sold off after the war was over, to butchers in France.

For ticket prices, availability, information about the show and shop go to the website at:

Website: warhorseonstage.com

Photographer: Simon Annand

The Armies in 1914

16 March 2014, 09.30 - 17.30 hours

National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, London SW3 4HT (Telephone - switchboard: 020 7730 0717)

A one day academic conference. The subject of the conference is the state of preparedness of the armies of Europe on the eve of the First World War.

To find out more about the programme and speakers as they are announced, go to the National Army Museum website page:

Website: www.nam.ac.uk What's On Armies 1914

The Great War Underground

2 November 2013, 10.15 - 17.00 hours

National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, London SW3 4HT (Telephone - switchboard: 020 7730 0717)

A one day seminar with talks by six distinguished military historians and military archaeologists: Philip Robinson, Prof Peter Doyle, Peter Barton, David Hedges, Dr Ritchie Wood and Simon Jones.

To find out more about the programme and to book tickets go to the National Army Museum website page:

Website: http://www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/targeted-talks/great-war-underground What's On Great War Underground

Weekend Course: The British Home Front and the First World War

Friday 10 to Sunday 12 January 2014

Institute of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall, Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB23 8AQ

Course fee: £240 (Bursaries are available for this course)

A weekend study course with tutor Andrew Lacey will explore the impact of the Great War 1914-1918 on the home front in Britain. The course is organized by the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education. The course programme includes:

• Britain at war 1914-1918: an introduction
• Your Country Needs You!: recruitment before conscription 1914 — 1916
• Women at war
• Boy’s Own war — literature and youth 1914-1918
• Patriotism, pageants and plays — dramatic representations of British history
• Praying for Victory — the churches at war
• The Fallen — commemoration and the creation of national memory 1918 – c.1925

For details and timings of the programme, to book a place on the course or make an enquiry visit the website:

Website: www.ice.cam.ac.uk The British home front in the First World War

Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE

Thursday 20 - Saturday 22 February 2014, 09.30 - 17.30 hours

Olympia, London

The country’s biggest and most comprehensive family history event. Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE, sponsored by Ancestry.co.uk. The event comprises a Military Pavilion with a Military Memorabilia Checkpoint. There are workshops, celebrity speakers and a large range of resources for family historians all under one roof. Representatives from The Western Front Association and the National Army Museum will be present at the show.

For information about the show, competitions, visitor information and ticket prices visit:

Website: www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com

Tracks to the Trenches

12, 13 & 14 September 2014

Apedale Valley Light Railway, near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire

A major event organized by the Moseley Railway Trust to commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War and the major role played by the railway in the logistics and transportation of men, animals and machines in the war.

For full details about the forthcoming event, visiting locomotives and how to find the Apedale Light Railway visit the website for “Tracks to the Trenches”:

Website: www.ww1-event.org

Great War Lecture Series, Eastbourne Redoubt

A programme of WW1 lectures will be held at the Eastbourne Redoubt organized by Tommies Guides Military Book Specialists. After the lecture there will be a break for refreshments, followed by a question and answer session and an opportunity for book signing as appropriate.

Saturday 2 November 2013

Boy Soldiers of the Great War by Richard van Emden

Venue: Eastbourne Redoubt, Royal Parade, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN22 7AQ (Tel. 01323-410 300)

Admission: Adults £12.00, concessions £10 per lecture. Ticket price includes entry to the museum.

Time: 2.30pm (doors open 2.00pm)

For full details visit the Tommies Guides website to request the relevant bulletin:

Website: www.tommiesguides.com

The National Archives, Kew, Surrey

Free and paid lectures, events and tours to see behind the scenes at the archives and find out more on how to research family history using the archive collections. For more information and a calendar of events go to the National Archives' website at

Website: The National Archives: What's On?

The National Army Museum, London

The museum offers a programme of lunchtime lectures, conferences and study days. Led by experts, the programme aims to increase an understanding of history, the arts, science, and the world we live in today - through the exploration of military history. The programme is aimed at ages 16 and above. Some events are related to school and college programmes of study. Booking is advised. For more information go to the National Army Museum's website at:

Website: www.nam.ac.uk

The Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset

The Tank Museum provides lectures as part of its events programme. For further information go to The Tank Museum Diary of Events at:

Website: The Tank Museum: Events Diary

The Western Front Association (W.F.A.)

Lectures, seminars and conferences are held at regular monthly Branch meetings and at a national level around the United Kingdom and internationally. Speakers include well-known military historians and WFA members with expertise in a wide variety of topics related to the First World War. For further information and a calendar of forthcoming events visit the WFA website at:

Website: WFA National Events and Conferences

University of Birmingham Centre for First World War Studies

The Centre for First World War Studies is part of the School of History and Cultures at Birmingham University. The Centre holds regular events including seminars, lectures and conferences. For information on the events programme visit the Centre for First World War Studies' website at:

Website: Centre for First World War Studies: Events

Centenary Events Co-ordination

The Imperial War Museum has set up a website to co-ordinate a listing of the international events and resources which will be marking 100 years since the outbreak of The Great War. The website includes podcasts, latest news and projects.

Website: www.1914.org

First World War Week

26 October to 3 November 2013, 11.00 - 16.00 hours

National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, London SW3 4HT (Telephone - switchboard: 020 7730 0717)

Admission: Free

Visitors to the activities do not need tickets. Suitable for children 7+. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For full details see the National Army Museum website:

Website: www.nam.ac.uk What's On First World War Week

Remembrance Sunday: Family Event

Sunday 10 November 2013, 10.30 - 16.30 hours

National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, London SW3 4HT (Telephone - switchboard: 020 7730 0717)

Admission: Free

Visitors are invited to handle First World War objects from the museum's collections. Also, visitors will have an opportunity to make a Remembrance poppy of their own in a craft workshop.

Visitors to the event do not need tickets. Suitable for all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For full details see the National Army Museum website:

Website: www.nam.ac.uk What's On Remembrance Sunday