See the 'Pages of the Sea' tributes at Roker and Seahouses beaches for Armistice Day

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josie andrews
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See the 'Pages of the Sea' tributes at Roker and Seahouses beaches for Armistice Day

Post by josie andrews »

Young and old gather to view the poignant tributes to those who died during the First World War

A thought-provoking and moving tribute to those who lost their lives in the First World War took place on three beaches along the North East coast.

Roker in Sunderland, St Aidan’s in Seahouses, Northumberland and Redcar on Teesside, were among 32 sites chosen to be part of Oscar-winner Danny Boyle’s ‘Pages of the Sea’ tribute.

It saw dozens of portraits of casualties during the conflict drawn into the sand at low tide which were washed away as the tide came in.

The three North East men commemorated as part of it were Second Lt Hugh Carr seen at Roker beach, Pvt William Jonas at Seahouses and Pvt Theophilus Jones at Redcar.

Thousands of people gathered to witness the event and they were also given the chance to take part when offered templates to create smaller images of their own on the three beaches.

Second Lt Carr, from Houghton-Le-Spring, was in the Household Cavalry 1st Life Guards before transferring to the Royal Engineers, 172 Tunnelling Company.

He was fatally wounded in the Ypres Salient, Belgium, in January 1916 when a German shell landed near his trench.

Pvt Jonas was born in Blyth and was a professional footballer for Clapton (later Leyton) Orient in the years before the war.

When the professional game was suspended, he joined the 17th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, known as the Football Battalion. He died in July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.

Pvt Jones of Darlington was the first British soldier to lose his life on English soil in the First World War. He was killed on December 16, 1914, while guarding the Heugh Gun Battery in Hartlepool, when German warships bombarded the town, targeting an iron works and shipyards.

The three were chosen by Mr Boyle to represent a range of interesting stories covering a range of ranks and regiments, from doctors to munition workers, Privates to Lieutenants and Majors.

He said: “For many of them it was their last sight of home.”

The poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, was invited by Mr Boyle to write a new poem for the event.

Her work, ‘The Wound in Time’, was read out by individuals, families and communities as they gathered on beaches

Keith Merrin, chief executive of Sunderland Culture, who was responsible for producing the Pages of the Sea event in Roker and Redcar, said: “We were surprised how many people were at the beach for 11am, but the two-minute silence was perfectly observed.

“The tone was perfect throughout the whole event, informal but respectful.”

As well as the main image of 2nd Lt Carr on Roker beach, dozens of smaller images were created by members of the public.

A Pages of the Sea choir, led by Cathy Stephens of the group the Cornshed Sisters, performed a specially-written song, while Easington Colliery Brass Band performed throughout the afternoon, as did a Northumbrian Piper.

Members of the public were also handed headphones through which they could listen to Carol Ann Duffy’s poem which had been recorded by local people, including Second World War Prisoner of War Len Ginson, 97.

Elaine Murray, who attended Pages of the Sea with her family from Durham, said: “I was really quite moved by the whole event.

We were there for the two-minute silence at 11am, which was beautifully and reverentially observed, and then watched as the image was etched into the sand.

“Watching the image slowly take shape was amazing, and I was also really impressed by the choir and the brass band.

“Younger members of my family enjoyed making the kites, but the whole event had a fittingly sombre tone, it wasn’t triumphant or celebratory.”

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/no ... r-15402117
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Wiganer Ted
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Re: See the 'Pages of the Sea' tributes at Roker and Seahouses...

Post by Wiganer Ted »

I was surprised that Wilfred Owen's sand image was in Folkstone, as he lived in Birkenhead. New Brighton beach is nearby, it's large and the tide comes in quickly.
SJ
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Re: See the 'Pages of the Sea' tributes at Roker and Seahouses...

Post by SJ »

Thought he came from Wrexham Ted thanks for the info. Have you read any of his poems very graphic and harrowing like Sasson'sand Rupert Brook' :D
Wiganer Ted
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Re: See the 'Pages of the Sea' tributes at Roker and Seahouses...

Post by Wiganer Ted »

Owen was born in Oswestry and moved to Birkenhead as a child when his father got a job in the town.
His poems tell the horrors of war and I find them a horrible read.
One problem I have is that history does repeat itself. When the war in Iraq was in full force, a read of T.E.Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" was un-nerving in how the same towns and cities were undergoing the same horrors of war some 85 years later.
Today's Iraq was then Messopotania known as the Messpot by British Tommies.
Although Owen wasn't a pacifist he was very anti war.
SJ
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Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2016 4:46 pm

Re: See the 'Pages of the Sea' tributes at Roker and Seahouses...

Post by SJ »

IT is remarkable how a writer can invoke the horror of War by his use of words. Oh by the way Ted the European court of Justice have ruled that the referendum result can be unilaterally revoked. That news is to be expected from a biased Court nevertheless it should give you some comfort. Take care Ted :D
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