Marking The Start Of WW1 

100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Schoolchildren gather in Wharf Green before 28 June - the day that sparked the Great War

 

Students from Goddard Park School gathered in Swindon town centre with poppies and genuine WW1 uniforms and weapons ahead of the first major date in the 100 year anniversary of World War One.

 

This Saturday, 28 June, is exactly a century on since Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. An event that eventually led to the United Kingdom declaring war on Germany on 04 August 1914. 

  

And thanks to a £10,000 Heritage Lottery Fund donation, these and other children will return to Wharf Green later on this summer as part of a Swindon in The Great War initiative town to mark its 100 year commemoration.

 

 

August Commemoration Events

 

From Monday 4th until 9th August, the inSwindon BID Company, alongside Swindon Borough Council and local organisations will put on a week’s worth of events in the town centre.

 

These will include public films on the Big Screen telling the story of Swindon & World War One, re-enactments, archive photographs & footage, displays, and a family fun day.

 

Pictures by Calyx.