Alnmouth to mark centenary of war memorial with service and tributes to 39 men who lost their lives

Community groups led by Alnmouth WI are coming together on Sunday, July 25 at 11am for the event.

RAF Boulmer representatives will also be in attendance, as well as parish councillors.

Wreaths will be laid and children will be laying painted pebbles at the memorial, each one representing one of the 39 men who died in conflict.

A road closure will be in place.

Afterwards, the WI will be serving takeaway tea and cakes takeaway from the Hindmarsh Hall.

WI secretary Kathryn Archibald, speaking at a parish council meeting, said: “The project was inspired by the historical perspective brought by Pam Muggleton and Celia Collinson who felt it was important on this centenary to pay tribute to those who have fallen.

"They have written the most beautiful tributes to the men mentioned on the memorial. They have done a lot of research and have photographs and letters so the main content of the tribute will be individual stories of the men who lost their lives.

"To reflect this as a commemoration rather than a remembrance, Judith Williams has led a super project with hundreds of hours spent hand-stitching and embroidering bunting that will decorate the memorial.

"I am sure everybody has seen the decoration of the poppies at Remembrance Sunday. What we want to do is to make this a real commemoration that in some respects will be a celebration of the lives that were lost.

"Additionally there will be a banner and illustrative map being done by Angela Blythe and Mandy Turner which will signpost the fact we are doing this tribute and illustrate where the tributes will be posted around the village.”

Meanwhile, hopes of installing lighting at the memorial are still under discussion. It was initially feared that the costs would be too high to justify the project, despite financial offers of support from the WI and burgage holders, but there are now hopes it could be tied in with county council works to convert the light on top of the memorial to LED.

Support your Gazette and become a subscriber today. With a digital subscription you get access to the ad-lite version of our website, meaning you see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times and get all of the headlines you need with fewer distractions. The Northumberland Gazette has been serving the county since 1854, and your support means we can continue telling your stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe.