St John the Baptist Church Frome is celebrating the award of ten World War 1 silhouettes funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
The silhouettes will form part of the commemorative WW1 display ‘And the shadows remained …. ’ being held at St John’s from Sunday 4th November to Sunday 18th November inclusive.
The display, a poignant mix of visual images and floral art, will focus on the shadows of grief and dark memories in people’s lives, on the shadows of those who died and never came home, and of the injured who became shadows of their former selves.
The display will be open daily from 10am – 4pm Monday to Saturday and from 11.30am to 4pm on Sundays, and will include panels from Frome and the Somme, local schools and projected images of the time. Special events will accompany the displays:
• Sunday 4th November at 4pm – ’Four long years ….’ a guided reflection in words and music by Revd Colin Alsbury.
• Saturday 10th November 10am to 1.30pm – a bell-ringing WW1 commemorative full peal – a marathon in campanology terms.
• Saturday 10th November 10.30am to approx 11.45am – ‘Frome Great War Commemoration Walk’ – a guided walk around the Great War graves of Frome originally devised by the Three Service Associations.
• Sunday 11th November at 6.30pm – the Royal British Legion Remembrance Service – with representatives of the armed forces.
• Sunday 18th November at 4pm – ‘Who will come home?’ a concluding guided reflection in words and music by Revd Colin Alsbury ‘
The silhouettes will provide a powerful and moving presence within the church – both as shadowy figures sitting alone in the pews and during events when the church is full. The award was made under the Armistice and Armed Forces Communities programme, which makes awards to bring communities together to remember; and to think about the Armed Forces today.
The organisers would like to include a display featuring ‘Those we remember who served ….’ focussing on Frome people with passed on memories and images of WW1 – so if you have any family photos of the time with a short story to tell, please contact St John’s parish office at administrator @sjfrome.co.uk.
