VE 75th ANNIVERSARY PRESENTATION
A new emergency support service for people at high risk of becoming seriously ill, as a result of COVID-19, and do not have support available from friends, family or neighbours has been set up.
0800 783 1966 ☎️
COVID19support@cumbria.gov.uk ⌨️
The lines will operate Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5pm and 10am to 2pm at weekends.
The service will also accepts referrals from members of the public who may be concerned about people in their community.
Further details about this support service can be found online at http://orlo.uk/pcd5x
75th ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY IN EUROPE (KNOWN AS VE DAY)
This year, the government moved the May bank holiday to VE Day to allow the nation to remember the sacrifice so many made in the fight against fascism.
With the outbreak off COVID-19 the sad decision had been made to cancel planned events within Communities to remember these events. However there has been a range of digital resources created to enable those to remember for use on social media channels for children and adults alike. These are available to the run up to VE day and on VE day itself.
1) The full toolkit is available here: Get involved in marking #VEDay75. This link contains online resources including tips for hosting a tea party at home, colouring, bunting and creative challenge for children.
2) Share your stories: we'd love to see people contributing their family's connection to WW2 by posting photos and stories on social media using #VEDay75.
Dan Snow creative challenge for children: video on social media (we can share files with you to post natively) and challenge on the website. There will also be a week of history lessons on Dan's History Hit YouTube channel in the week running up to 8 May.
A - Z graphics: shared on Instagram (@dcmsgovuk) with information about VE Day and the end of the Second World War.
Veteran videos and stories - check out our first one featuring Mervyn. @DCMS on Twitter will be featuring these over the next few weeks.
@DCMS on Twitter will be posting a hero video featuring people thanking those who contributed to the War effort at home, including teachers, farmers, engineers etc. Please look out for this and share.
The Royal British Legion 2.6 challenge (Taken from an email sent out by The Royal British Legion)
During the Covid-19 outbreak the safety and well-being of the elderly and most vulnerable in our community is our highest priority. The support and services provided by The Royal British Legion’s care homes has never been more important, and I’m very proud to be one of the 750 staff and volunteers who work within our six care homes. Every day our staff and volunteers do all that they can to keep our residents safe and well in a professional and caring environment.
With the London Marathon and many other fundraising events cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re asking our Members and supporters to help us in a new way and take part in the 2.6 challenge on behalf of The Royal British Legion.
From Sunday 26 April people across the UK will be taking on The 2.6 Challenge – a nationwide event, launching on the date the London Marathon should have taken place, raising funds to help the UK’s charities.
We’re asking you to take part in an activity of your choice based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and to raise vital funds to support work in our care homes and with the vulnerable in our communities:
- Dream up your 2.6 challenge – knit 26 poppies, walk 2.6 miles, flip 26 beer mats, write a 26 line poem, learn Morse code or semaphore for the 26 letters of the alphabet, do 26 sit-ups...
- Head to the 2.6 Challenge on JustGiving to set up a fundraising page
- Ask all your friends and family to sponsor you and challenge them to do their own 2.6 Challenge
- Complete your challenge between 26-30 April (or at a time that suits you) – remember to follow the Government guidelines on exercise and social distancing.
- Share a photo or video of your challenge on social media with #TwoPointSixChallenge
If the challenge isn’t your thing but you’d like to help, you can donate £26, or whatever you can afford here.
Now more than ever it is crucial that those who have served and made sacrifices for us are looked after. We are asking all those who can to take part in the 2.6 challenge and help fund our vital work providing 450 veterans and their dependants with residential, nursing and specialist dementia care.
On behalf of all the staff and volunteers in our care homes I’d like to thank every one of our Members for all that you do to support us. We’re proud to have you on our team.
Tracy Tremble
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Due to the Coronavirus the Leg it for the Legion is cancelled.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
LEG IT FOR THE LEGION - Cancelled
The date for the next Leg it for the Legion is due to take place on Sunday 5 July 2020.
ARMED FORCES DAY 2020 will be held on Saturday 27th June - More details will follow in due course.
Picture below shows the Memorial Flagstone for Lt J H Collin VC, located by the City Memorial.
On Saturday 23rd June 2018, after the raising of the Armed Forces Week Flag the Assembly gathered at the City War Memorial for the unveiling and dedication of the Flagstone to mark the Centenary of the Award of the Victoria Cross to Lt J H Collin VC.
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Memorials Project - See "WW1 Heroes Walks of Honour" further down the website menu.
CARLISLE’S FIRST WORLD WAR MEMORIALS PROJECT
As the Royal British Legion’s contribution to Carlisle City Council’s initiative to commemorate the centenary of the First World War, the local Carlisle and Stanwix Branch undertook to identify the War Memorials commemorating the First World War within Carlisle City Council’s administrative area. With the intention of creating a series of “walking routes” between the Memorials, the project was named “World War One Heroes Walks of Honour” and designated an area of our Branch Website accordingly. However, little did we realise the immensity of the task!
Within the City Boundary there are at least 72 locations containing one or more First World War Memorials, discounting Rolls of Honour unless they appear alongside Memorials. Although we have recently uncovered additional locations, we have limited ourselves to 72 locations in this first phase.
Using Carlisle City Council’s record of all monuments and memorials, we recovered details of the First World War memorials from the listing; however we found memorials that the City Council had not recorded and found that a few “memorials” listed, were not memorials but “Rolls of Honour”!
A small plaque was provided for each location and with the cooperation of each Church and memorial custodian the plaques are now on display. Each is uniquely numbered and has a QR Code in the centre. Then came the task to photograph each Memorial and the best photograph of each location were loaded onto the website.
It would have been almost impossible for our team of 3 to undertake the research and produce narratives for every Memorial location. If we found that information already existed, we sought permission to use it. The production of narratives is an on-going aspect of the task and it will take some months yet to complete this aspect of the task.
There are for example, over 80 names on the Memorial at Our Lady and St Joseph’s Church in Warwick Road. We understand that an extensive dossier with a write-up of everyone listed is located in the County Archives. It will be necessary to scan the document, produce a pdf or readable version and load it onto the website. The task to upload information and photographs then took place and can be seen at www.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/carlisle.
Having loaded the Carlisle and Stanwix Branch website with an enormous amount of information and links to other sites, we were advised by the RBL National Website Administrator that an interactive database or mapping system could operate within the constraints of the Branch Website Template. In mid 2014 we turned to the Business Interaction Centre at the University of Cumbria for assistance and in September 2014, four students in their final year of their Computer Studies took on the task and produced a 21st Century solution with an interactive mapping system for use with Smartphones and other portable technology.
Originally funded by the County and City Council Grants, 1000 copies of a corresponding Booklet were produced. They summarise the entries on the RBL Website, so that those who wish can undertake a tour or pilgrimage to the 72 locations without as Smart phone! Before they start or when they get home, they can look up the location and read information that has been loaded onto the website. The booklet was reprinted in autumn 2016 and copies are available from the Tourist Information Office, Civic Centre, Tullie House, the Military Museum and many of the memorial locations. Copies are available by post from the Branch Secretary (tony@parrini.co.uk) in return for a donation of at least £2.50 the "Poppy Appeal", to cover postage and packing. We hope readers will take copies to encourage people to take up the challenge to visit the memorial Locations during the Centenary years and beyond.
There are a number of “SPIN-OFFS”. The Number 1 reason for the project is to meet one of the priorities of the Royal British Legion to keep alive the memories of all those lost during the First World War. But, we believe that with the assistance of the Cumbria Tourist Board and Carlisle’s Tourist Information Office, although it is unlikely that anyone will visit all 72 locations in one visit, visitors to the area might be encouraged to return a few times to complete the full tour!
The project is also an educational and research tool which schools, relatives and many other people interested in Cumbria’s Military History could tap into. We have produced a permanent record that should be available to generations to come. The 4 young students from the University of Cumbria have gained considerably by their involvement.
A somewhat surprising benefit – if one searches for a Church in Carlisle and the church has a World War One memorial, the first page of a Google Search includes reference to the RBL Website.
Finally, how much has all this cost? Discounting the hundreds of voluntary hours and the mileage to visit the locations, the cost has just exceeded the 2 grants (£1000 from Cumbria County Council and £700 from Carlisle City Council, plus RBL Members funds. We are very grateful for the funding and hope that you agree that this has been a worthwhile project and given very good value for money.
