To mark the 100th anniversary of end of the First World War the Rotary Club of Harrogate invited children from every school in the area to an event at Christ Church on Thursday 15 November 2018.
The event included a narrative about the War, letters from the time read by the children and songs from the War. It completed with an Act of Remembrance, including the Last Post and a two minutes silence.
Over 1200 young people and their teachers attended over two services with special guests of Chairman of the North Yorkshire County Council, County Councillor Robert Windass a the Mayor & Mayoress of Harrogate and Rotary’s District Governor and the Presidents of Rotary Clubs of Harrogate Brigantes and Knaresborough.
Music on both occasions was provided by St Aidan’s School Brass Group and the St Aiden’s Chamber Choir joining them for the singing of the anthem.
Rotarian the Revd Michael Wearing and the Revd Matthew Evans, Vicar of Christ Church, lead the Act of Remembrance.
The whole Event had been researched and written by Rotarian Terry Knowles and Rotarian Ann Percival acting as Narrator.
It was hosted by the President of the Rotary Club of Harrogate Maurice Bull, follows the anniversary of the start of the war in 2014 when the Club invited thirty four school to a service dedicating three memorial trees planted on The Stray by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, the Bishop for the Area of Ripon, and the Deputy Chairman of the NYCC.
This was followed by commemorative service at the War Memorial attended by over one thousand young people. Each school later planted their own tree along a path close to Skipton Road and starting at the corner of Church Square to commemorate a local regiment that had fought in the First World War and which they had individually adopted.
The Mayor of Harrogate, Cllr Bernard Bateman, said:
I am very happy to support this as I am also involved with the Army Benevolent Fund – Rotary do a vast amount of work throughout the district.
President Maurice Bull of the Rotary Club of Harrogate, said:
Four years ago in conjunction with 35 schools from the Harrogate District planted a row of trees, with each tree representing a regiment.
That was an event to mark the start of the 1st World War and now we are having another event to mark the end.
