WALTHAM ABBEY TOWN COUNCIL - MEDIA RELEASE: Event to commemorate 100 years since end of WW1

Issued: Otober 17, 2018

Town council to host special event to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War

A special event to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War will be hosted by Waltham Abbey Town Council on the evening of Remembrance Sunday (November 11).

'Battle’s Over' events will be held throughout the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and at scores of locations overseas, including New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, Bermuda, France, Belgium, Canada, the United States and Germany, to name but a few.

It begins at 6am with lone pipers playing Battle’s O’er, a traditional Scottish air played after a battle, outside cathedrals in the country, following which a specially written tribute will be read out.

At the same time, more than 1,000 pipers will be playing the tune in individual locations within their local communities.

At 6.55pm buglers will sound the Last Post at more than 1,000 locations, where at 7pm beacons will be lit in a tribute called Beacons of Light, signifying the light of peace that emerged from the darkness of four years of war.

Then at 7.05pm more than 1,000 church and cathedrals will ring their bells as part of Ringing Out for Peace organised in association with the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, which represents 65 societies of ringers from the British Isles and overseas.

Also at 7.05pm, more than 140 town criers will perform a specially written Cry for Peace Around the World, the first of them in New Zealand and then across the globe through the various time zones.

The Waltham Abbey event will be held in the cloisters at the Abbey Church at 6.55pm.

Town Mayor Jeane Lea said: "We are proud to be playing a part in this historic international event to commemorate the centenary of the end of the Great War, and to recognise the contribution and sacrifice made by the men and women from our own community."

Battle’s Over - A Nation’s Tribute has been devised and planned by Pageantmaster Bruno Peek. He has organised major royal celebrations and international events for more than 36 years and has been working on Battle’s Over for more than four years.

He said: "It’s wonderful to see the event being embraced by so many organisations and communities in this country and around the world.

"The centenary of the end of the Great War is an opportunity to acknowledge the enormous sacrifice made the millions of men and women who died or were wounded, as well as those who worked tirelessly at home in our fields and factories. It has been a privilege to work on this project with the support of so many amazing organisations.”

More information on Battle’s Over can be found at www.brunopeek.co.uk/battles-over