As part of the annual Festival of Churches, over the weekend of 6th and 7th September All Saints’ Church in Forton is holding a special event to commemorate the outbreak of World War One in 1914.
“One War – One Parish” will explore the impact of this world-changing event on the lives of local people, both those who went to fight and those left at home. On both days there will be a display of material from the time, a colouring competition for children,and on Sunday 7th there will also be other events:
At 11.30am, an opportunity for people to bring along memorabilia from the time, and to discuss their items with an expert. At 2.00 visitors can listen to a short talk on the outbreak of war and its effects on the parish, especially the mobilisation of local men for the British Expeditionary Force.
To close the weekend, at 4.00 there will be a short open air service to commemorate those associated with Forton who served and died, to which everyone is invited. If you can’t visit the displays over the weekend, they will be staying up in the church for a few weeks afterwards, and there are plans to develop the research into a publication.
If anyone has information about family members from the Forton area who served in the Great War, the organisers would love to hear from them, so that it can be included in the displays. To get in touch, please email onewaroneparish@outlook.com. For a list of those from Forton who served, visit the church’s web page.