Local authorities, town councils and parish council landowners are featured in a UK-wide, World War One commemoration programme during this anniversary year.
Landowners are honouring the memories of those soldiers who fought and died in conflict by designating parks and green spaces as Centenary Fields, part of the UK-wide commemoration programme led by Fields in Trust. This designation ensures that land will remain available as a recreational space for the community in perpetuity.
Over 100 councils have participated in the Centenary Fields programme to date. Examples of councils featured in the campaign include North Somerset Council who protected two sites which contributed to the war effort - including Weston Woods that supplied timber to shore-up trenches on the Western Front. Belper Town Council has showcased the contemporary resonance of the Great War by commissioning a new installation for their Memorial Gardens called "Sacrifice", representing a soldier from the town who was killed during the War. Didcot Town Council unveiled a new plaque at the Smallbone Recreation Ground War memorial and local school children placed 28 remembrance crosses, each bearing the name of one of the Didcot men who fell during World War I. Llantwit Major Town Council dedicated Seaview Park as a Centenary Field. At the end of World War II, many residents of Llantwit Major gave a shilling toward the refurbishment of the town’s War Memorial Cross as there were additional funds remaining a set of memorial gates were commissioned. In 2014 Llantwit Major Town Council refurbished the memorial gates.
Protected sites are also featured in the Centenary Fields Legacy Programme online story map, to remember those who served and lost their lives during the conflict and to say “Thank You” to the World War I Generation. Fields in Trust are revealing the story of one Centenary Field each day at 11am.
The Centenary Fields Legacy Programme which will run until the anniversary of Armistice Day on 11th November is in delivered in partnership with the Royal British Legion’s “Thank You” project highlighting the nation’s gratitude to the generation who served in WWI. Protecting parks and green spaces in perpetuity is an innovative way to honour the memory of the World War I servicemen and also those, military and civilian, who played their part on the home-front to build a better life for the benefit of generations to come.
Speaking at the launch of the Centenary Fields programme in 2014 Fields in Trust President, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, said, “The Centenary Fields programme aims to save in perpetuity scores of memorial spaces around the country. Each moment of play or leisure that takes place on a Memorial Field is, in a way, an act of remembrance. I am delighted that Fields in Trust have identified these Centenary Fields as a vital part of our national heritage and well-being, which we cannot take for granted. I encourage local authorities to support this cause and to safeguard these living spaces of remembrance for generations to come.”
Centenary Fields protected as part of the programme include war memorials, parks and recreation grounds, memorial gardens, playing fields or other green spaces with a significant World War I link. Stories featured will highlight the contribution of individual combatants, those who returned - and many who did not.
Fields in Trust Chairman of Trustees, Tim Phillips, said, “We congratulate local council landowners for dedicating their parks and green spaces as Centenary Fields. these precious places are now included forever in our national programme to commemorate World War I. Protection of these sites not only recognise the sacrifices of those who gave their lives during the conflict, but also ensures that future generations will have valuable green spaces to enjoy as a living legacy.”
