A restored memorial to servicemen from St Ann’s who died in the First World War was unveiled today (Wednesday 31 October) to mark the centenary of the Armistice.
Special guest at the event was 101-year-old Hilda Hutchinson, pictured, with her very own piece of Great War history – a Christmas card sent to her by her father from the trenches in 1918.
The memorial was originally placed in the old St Ann’s Church soon after the war ended to honour local men who lost their lives. It includes a list of eleven names – though of the 2,800 young men from St Ann’s recruited, many in Sherwood Foresters, 1,000 are thought to have died.
The church was demolished in the 1970s but now the memorial has been found a new home at the St Ann’s Valley Centre built on exactly the same site at 2, Livingstone Road.
St Ann’s City Councillors Jon Collins, Sue Johnson and Dave Liversidge have funded the memorial’s restoration from their ward budgets.
The unveiling event this afternoon included a Royal British Legion Act of Homage with a bugler playing the Last Post and a two-minute silence.
There was also the chance for people to find out from library staff how they can start to research their own family history, including any ancestors who may have fought in the First World War, plus Poppy Making with Small Steps Big Changes and the Early Help Team.