Final preparations are being made for a huge Remembrance Day commemoration in Wellington – and the public are being urged to attend.
A week long exhibition, starting on Monday (Nov 5), has been set up at the Gratitude Cafe in Duke Street featuring memorabilia from the war and digital displays about the people behind the 184 war dead named on the town Lychgate.
Two large boards of information and pictures, sponsored by Wellington Town Council and the Rotary Club of Wellington, are also being erected on the railings at All Saints Church, near to the Lychgate where the names are engraved.
A Remembrance Day parade will see the presentation of a limited edition book with further details of the people identified – it is the culmination of two years of work by a group of dedicated volunteers.
Mary Rogers, of the group Wellington Remembers 1914-1918, said: “We are all very excited about finally having the chance to show the public exactly what we have found and sharing this project with them.
“It has been a huge undertaking for this small group of dedicated volunteers, which we could not have completed without funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
“We spent many months poring over war diaries, census details and listening to the stories of local people.
“The project has brought families together, linked generations and uncovered more about the town’s history.
“We have a face to many of the names and a story of their life, showing some were from as far away as New Zealand.
“It is going to be the biggest Remembrance Day programme we have had in Wellington for some years and it is shaping up to be a very special occasion.”
On Remembrance Sunday there will be a procession of around 500 people leaving Nailor’s Row car park at 10.25am, the Wellington (Telford) Brass Band will lead 184 people representing all the people named on the Wellington Lychgate – these will either be relatives or young people.
Each will carry a name plate surmounted by a poppy.
At the service in front of All Saints church a biography of one of the 184 will be read and one of the 12 books, a limited edition print run, will be presented to Wellington Town Council.
The others will be presented to local organisations including the library and Shropshire Archives. The work will also be in digital format on Shropshire Archives website after November 11.
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