9 FACTS ABOUT REMEMBRANCE AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR Image: Doncaster Heritage Services

1. ANNOUNCING THE END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR The First World War came to an end at 11am on 11th November 1918. At the end of the war many people gathered in the streets to hear the official announcement of peace. In Doncaster the official announcement was made from the steps of the Mansion House. Once the war came to an end the Allied countries wanted to make sure that there was peace for a very long time. An agreement was drawn up and the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The Treaty was signed on 28 June 1919. The end of the First World War being announced at Doncaster Mansion House, 1918. (Image: Doncaster Heritage Services)

2. PARADES AND CELEBRATIONS 1. 2. PARADES AND CELEBRATIONS After peace was declared there were lots of celebrations and parties. After the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 there were peace parades across Doncaster. This picture is from the Peace Parade that took place in Edlington in 1919. Peace celebrations in Edlington, July 19th,1919. (Image: Doncaster Heritage Services)

1. 3. SOLDIERS’ GRAVES 6 million people died during the First World War. Some soldiers who were killed have no known grave. Other soldiers were buried, sometimes in makeshift graves. During the War the Graves Registration Commission recorded and cared for all graves that they could find. At the end of the war the Imperial War Graves Commission secured land for cemeteries and memorials and began recording full details of the dead. By 1918, 587,000 graves had been identified and a further 559,000 casualties were registered as having no known grave. Today the graves are looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. George and Elizabeth Warman visiting the grave of George Warman, France. (Image submitted by Ida Blair to Doncaster 1914-18)

4. MEMORIAL PLAQUES In the First World War ‘Next of Kin Memorial Plaques’ were sent to families who had lost a loved one on military service. The memorial plaques were nicknamed the ‘Dead Man’s Penny’ because they looked like a large coin. A competition was ran during the First World War to decide on the design of the plaque. 600 plaques were issued for women who were killed in action. Wilfred Nicholson’s memorial plaque . (Image submitted by Lesley Nicholson to Doncaster 1914-18)

5. SOUVENIRS Some people had souvenirs of the First World War. Some souvenirs were purchased during the First World War. These souvenirs may have been bought to raise money for the war effort. Souvenirs of the end of the war were also created. These included handkerchiefs, badges and cups. Some souvenirs, however, were brought back by soldiers from the Front to remember their time there. For example, Albert John Drury from Wheatley kept this cigarette tin that saved his life by stopping a piece of shrapnel. Albert John Drury’s cigarette tin from the First World War. (Image submitted by Isobel Sampson to Doncaster 1914-18)

6. WAR MEMORIALS Because of the number of people killed during the First World War, most bodies were not brought home and remained buried abroad. People needed places to go to remember their loved ones at home so war memorials were created. The Cenotaph War Memorial on Bennetthorpe in Doncaster was unveiled on Monday 12th March 1923. War memorials were not just created in the streets or churches of Doncaster. They can also be found in pubs, working men’s clubs and businesses to remember those who worked or socialised there. War memorials were also meant to remind people of the war, and prevent it from happening again. Today, many of Doncaster’s war memorials are the sites of commemorations on Remembrance Day. Unveiling a war memorial in Mexborough. (Image: Mexborough & District Local Heritage Society)

7. WAR POETRY During the First World War some soldiers wrote poetry to express themselves and to pass the time. Some of the poetry was patriotic whilst other poems reflected the realities of war. Famous war poets include Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke and Isaac Rosenberg. These poets have become known as the War Poets. During the war the Doncaster newspapers often printed poems written by local men during the War. The poems of the war poets are often used in Remembrance Day commemorations. Poetry in the Doncaster Chronicle, 1916 (Image: Doncaster Heritage Services)

8. THE POPPY Many people today wear poppies around Remembrance Day. The red poppy became a symbol of remembrance during the First World War. Poppies were common in the battlefields, especially on the Western Front. They grew well in the soil churned up by the fighting. In 1915 the poppy inspired a poem by the Canadian, John McCrae, called ‘In Flanders Fields’. A lady called Madame Guerin read the poem and liked it so much that she started to sell poppies in America to raise money for the places in France that had been damaged. She campaigned for them to become a symbol of remembrance. Poppies were first sold in Britain in 1921to raise money for ex-servicemen and their families. In 1922 the British Legion founded a factory-staffed by disabled veterans- to make the poppies. Other charities sell poppies in different colours that each have their own meaning. For example, white poppies sybolise peace without violence and purple poppies remember animals killed in war. A 1921 poppy. (Image:© IWM (EPH 2313))

9. REMEMBRANCE DAY Despite the celebrations that took place at the end of the war, some people felt it was wrong to celebrate as so many people had died during the First World War. On 11th November 1919, one year after the end of the war, a newspaper announced that the day should be known as ‘Peace Day’. The King decided that there should be a period of silence at 11 o’clock to remember those who died. Ever since this first Remembrance Day people have followed this tradition of stopping for a short silence to remember. On Remembrance Day people often gather around war memorials and there are often services and parades. The war memorial on Bennetthorpe, Doncaster (Image: Doncaster Heritage Services)