Southend Schools Festival of Remembrance is a project set up to engage young people in the stories of those that were lived, died and survived WW1 in our town.
We are supported in this work by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and The Royal British Legion. Since May 2017 we have connected with over 5,000 children in Southend-on-Sea and our local history experts from the Leigh Society, the U3A and the Essex Society for Family History have been helping us to learn more about what happened to local people during WW1.
25 local schools have taken part in the Poppy Waterfall Exhibition on Southend Seafront making poppies to display . We have been exploring what remembrance meant a hundred years ago and what it means now to young people.
However, if you know a school that would be interested in getting involved, please contact us. If you are someone who would like to share their family history, an artist or would like to join in, we would also love to hear from you.
As well as learning about the local men and women who survived WW1 from our history experts the children will be involved in a giant outdoor display of their art, inspired by the arrival of the Wave in Shoeburyness.
Our 4 Ambassador Schools have been working with us each devising their own performance around the research project that will take place with support from a playwright and our team.
Finally, with the guidance of local organisations and the CWGC we will create a digital trail and education pack that will guarantee that local organisations and schools will be able to easily reproduce this project for future generations.
SSFR has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Leigh Town Council and Southend Borough Council.
To get involved or for more information about the project please contact Beth Hooper at Blade Education on 0207 097 3935 or email her at beth@blade-education.org.uk or visit the project website www.ssfr.org.uk
