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Norwich remembrance commemoration plans unveiled 

Plans for this year’s Remembrance Sunday commemorations in Norwich marking 100 years since the end of the First World War have been unveiled.

Remembrance Sunday marks the day the First World War ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918. To mark this centenary year, organisations and groups across the city have come together to hold a range of special events

The day will begin with the sound of pipers playing at the Norwich War Memorial and Norwich Cathedral, joining pipers across the country in a rendition of the traditional Scottish lament played at the end of battle – Battle’s O’er.

Norwich War Memorial and Memorial Gardens will be the centrepiece of an ‘Avenue of Remembrance’, and will be covered with 3,544 of the 15,500 poppies created as part of a community project organised by Norfolk Library Service. Each poppy will represent one of the men from Norwich who fought and died in the First World War, whose names are inscribed on the Roll of Honour, which was moved into City Hall in 2016.

These names will also be broadcast from City Hall throughout the day thanks to a special recording by the BBC, featuring local voices. City Hall will be open from 11:30am to 6pm for anyone wishing to view the Roll of Honour.

The annual Remembrance Day Service will take place from 10:30am in front of the war memorial, and members of the public will have the opportunity to lay their own wreaths and poppies when the service has completed. 

A parade of veterans and members of the armed forces will then make its way to a Service of Remembrance at Norwich Cathedral, from 11:40am to 12:30pm at which the Bishop of Norwich will preach

For those wishing to learn more about the First World War and its legacy or find out about Norfolk’s role in the war, exhibitions will be taking place at The Forum and Norwich Castle Museum throughout the day.

From dusk, Norwich BID will be projecting a poignant image of poppies onto the front of Norwich Castle.

In the evening, members of the public are invited to join a 6pm Service of Light at Norwich Cathedral followed by a candlelit procession from Norwich Cathedral, where the City Crier will lead the city in a national “Cry for Peace.” Across the country, communities will come together for this final commemoration which, in Norwich, will include readings and poems, lighting of the beacon and peals of bells from churches across the city.

The Lord Mayor of Norwich, Councillor Martin Schmierer, said: “I am very proud that the city is coming together to create a reflective environment for us all to pay our respects in this centenary year of remembrance.

“It will be a day to remember those who fought and died in the First World War, and to pay tribute to all those affected by the impact of conflicts since.”

To find out more about the events taking place, click here.

Pictured above is a display of knitted poppies falling from the sky in the memorial chapel at St John’s Catholic Cathedral in Norwich.