Somme Art ProjectBangor Grammar School and Grammarians Living Memory Project
Somme Centenary Memorial Event
Thursday 15 September 2016

Following on from our participation in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Living Memory Project in 2015 and the official Somme Centenary Commemoration at the Thiepval Monument on 1 July past, Bangor Grammar School and the Grammarians, the association of former pupils, will be hosting another event next Thursday (15 September).

The programme, comprising a series of activities at the School on Gransha Road and at the Newtownards Road Cemetery in Bangor, will run from 9.30am until 12.30pm.

Six former pupils from the School died during the Battle of the Somme, five of them on the first day, 1 July. Current pupils and former pupils will join together to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of these six individuals, as part of the UK-wide programme to mark the 141 days this particular aspect of the conflict lasted.

Presentations involving a combination of biographical detail and dramatic performance will give an insight into the motivation to go to war, the historical context both locally and nationally, and the scale of the losses.

The chosen date of 15 September 2016 has particular resonance as it marks the one hundredth anniversary of the first use of the tank on the battlefield. This new ‘secret weapon’ was viewed as potentially giving a significant strategic and military advantage that could change the course of the war. Equally it added a new and terrifying dimension to the industrialisation of warfare.

Former pupils and members of the public are welcome to take part in the event. If you are interested in attending the event then please contact info@grammarians.com