Remembrance Day 2020
Please see out Coronavirus page for the latest information regarding members do's and don'ts.
Wreath Laying Wallsend
"A picture paints a thousand words"
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Remembrance Day 2020
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Remembrance Day 2019
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The pictures above show the impact Covid has had on remembrance day 2020. These pictures were taken in Wallsend the top two in 2020 and the bottom one in 2019.
West Cornforth and District Branch
The photos below show how Cornforth and District Branch carried out their Remembrance Service ensuring all guidance was strictly adhered to.
Stockton Borough Council
The link below shows a film of the Remembrance Services and also links to a virtual field of remembrance so people can place a cross. It also includes a message from Sue Snowden the Lord Lieutenant of Durham.
Festival of Remembrance at Durham Cathedral
The service can be viewed here via facebook. To see photographs taken during the filminging of this event please Click here.
For a bit more background about the event this year please see the article in the Northern Echo about the Festival of Remembrance which has had to be held very differently this year like many other due to Covid restriction.
Ferryhill Council Offices
The photograph below were provided by Debbie Owens Secretary of the Newcastle West Branch. They were taken by Councillor Marc Donnelly and are of the main road into Westerhope, West Denton and Chapel Wards
Adam Owens cut out over 18 large wooden poppies and Lawrence Hunter (Branch Chairman) painted them, the wood was kindly donated by the local Wickes.
A big well done to all as don't they look marvelous.
Annual Festival of Remembrance from Durham Cathedral
Whilst most of the traditional Remembrance events have either been scaled down or postponed altogether, The Soldiers’ Charity will still be hosting the annual Festival of Remembrance from Durham Cathedral, albeit in a virtual manner.
We are filming next Wednesday using a professional production company on a retainer with the Charity; the final edit will be streamed on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/soldierscharity) at 19:30 hrs on 7th November (to deconflict with TRBL’s virtual event on BBC 1 that evening); it will also be available on YouTube (via the Charity’s YouTube channel). The event is being supported by The Band of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and the Pipes and Drums 102 Battalion REME, and narrated by Colonel Alasdair Hutton (from the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo). Filming will be sequenced in order to meet current social distancing direction. Further details on the event can be found on The Soldiers’ Charity website (https://soldierscharity.org/events/durham-cathedral-virtual-festival-of-remembrance/
Ferryhill Council Offices
Ferryhill Council offices get ready for Remembrance Day displaying in excess of 10,000 knitted and crocheted poppies making up their poppy nets. A very commendable effort by their community
Poppies Weeping Window
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Weeping Window is from the extraordinary installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red by artist Paul Cummings and installation designed by Tom Piper.
At Woodhorn, Weeping Window cascaded 55 ft from the winding wheel on the No:1 Heapstead (built in 1897). The Heapstead, an instantly recognisable symbol of the industrial heritage of the region provided a dramatic new backdrop and context to the sculpture.
Woodhorn Colliery played a major part int he war effort, not only for coal production but also supplied skilled miners for the front. From the minute books of Ashington Coal Company it was established that from a workforce of over 9000, nearly 2500 were servicing within the armed forces.
By the beginning of 1917 around 250 had lost their lives.
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The Soldier's Return
Watch the world premiere of The Soldier’s Return online on Remembrance Sunday, 8 November.
The creative team at Opera Sunderland have been extremely busy since lockdown and are excited to bring news of their new work.
In March, when lockdown was announced, the cast was recruited of professional singers and musicians and a community chorus of 40 members to take part in the world premiere of The Soldier’s Return by Marcos Fernandez-Barrero and Jacob Polley.
Based on interviews with modern-day veterans, this moving and thought-provoking production reflects the soldiers’ experiences of coming home after conflict and the impact on their families.
After much thought about how they could continue to produce the piece safely they decided that the only way forward was to create a film. Alongside our Artistic Director Alison Barton and Musical Director Marco Romano they are collaborating with award-winning North East film makers Meerkat Films, director Annie Rigby (Unfolding Theatre), designer Imogen Cloët and sound engineer Ian Stephenson from Simpson Street Studios.
Social distancing rules have meant taking an approach more like producing a pop video than an opera, but although it’s quite an experimental approach in the classical music world, it is tried and tested in other genres like pop and rock. They recorded each musician and singer separately in the studio, using a piano track as a guide. Once the soundtrack was ready, They then filmed the singers on set, miming to their own voices.
Alongside this process, our fantastic community chorus took part in weekly Zoom workshops with Simon Davies-Fidler, learning a small section of music each week and then submitting their own individual recording which was added to the soundtrack.
The film is currently being edited and we are so excited to be able to share a few photographs of the filming process and the beautiful set with you.
The Soldier's Return will premiere online on Remembrance Sunday, 8 November after observing the 2 minute silence at 11am. We hope you can join us!
Click here to Find out more and watch the world premiere on 8 November
