SPECIALLY-designed and commissioned mugs will be given out to residents of a dale village during a remembrance exhibition on Sunday, November 11, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the First World War armistice.
Bowes Parish Council commissioned the mugs, which have been designed by Cllr Phil Hughes and artist Stuart Short.
The mugs have silhouettes of front line soldiers and artillery on a background of poppies along with the names and ages of the 16 men from Bowes and Gilmonby who died during the conflict or from wounds incurred during the war, as well as a poignant line from celebrated poet Rupert Brook, which also features on Bowes’ war memorial.
They will be handed out to residents of both Bowes and Gilmonby at the village hall on Sunday between 2pm and 4pm.
The exhibition, about the men from the parishes who didn’t return from the war, will feature research Ann Hughes has carried out as well as images from the First World War, copies of recruiting posters and music from the era will be played.
There will be a small display about a young man who lived in the village before the war, whose father was vicar at Bowes for many years, who became a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps and who was killed in a mid-air collision with a German Luftwaffe flyer as they each tried to shoot the other down.
Tea, coffee and biscuits will be served and there will be a collection for Help for Heroes, Phoenix House, Catterick Garrison.
Cllr Hughes said: “We recognise that there will be a huge number of commemorative events that day and want to hold a low-key, but respectful event and the free mugs will be a present reminder of the sacrifice the men made and the effects on their families down to the present day.”
In addition to the mugs, the parish council will also place ten Perspex seated silhouettes in the pews at St Giles during the remembrance day service as a reminder of all who were lost. After the event the silhouettes of the fallen will be placed in the gardens of the houses and farms where they lived before they volunteered.
