Royston marks outbreak of First World War with two ‘very moving’ services

A candle was lit for each of the soldiers named on the town’s war memorial who gave their lives during the First World War at 10pm last night as part of the National Lights Out Campaign.

The candles were extinguished throughout the service as the names of each soldier were read out, before the final candle was extinguished at 11pm – the time that Great Britain entered the war.

On Sunday a service of commemoration and remembrance took place at 3pm at Royston Parish Church with standards of the ex-service associations and dignitaries from the town among those present. The ceremony included music from a Scottish piper in the full uniform of the Black Watch.

The Royal British Legion’s Royston branch and the Church of St. John the Baptist organised the service, which also involved the participation of the other faith churches from the town.

Legion branch chairman Chris Murphy said: “Both services went very well. They were well attended and very fitting for the occasion of marking the 100th anniversary of the date that Great Britain entered the First World War.

“It was very moving to see the candles lit, and even though it was on a work-day evening we saw a mixture of young and old attending which was great to see.”

Nest week visitors to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford will get the chance to hear the stories of war from the people who were there through a series of Meet the Veterans events.

The veterans in attendance from 11am-1pm on Sunday, July 10, and the following Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday have experienced a wide range of conflicts, from the Second World War and the Cold War, to more recent wars in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile Herts at War opened their museum exhibition which showcases the effect of Great War on the county and its residents both at home and abroad last night at 12-14 The Arcade in Letchworth.

For more information visit www.hertsatwar.co.uk.