The Great Hall To Honour a Promise 21 Jun – 21 Jul This exhibition tells the story of the part that the local people of Winchester played in WWI. With talks and events for all ages throughout the exhibition. As part of HM Lord Lieutenant's Annual Flag-Raising Ceremony (23 June), a special memorial by sculptor Simon Smith will be unveiled to commemorate all the troops who passed through Winchester on their way to the Front.
Cloud Feb & Mar 2015 View artist Susie MacMurray’s aerial display suspended from the Great Hall’s roof, hovering above drifts of discs representing the identity tags of fallen soldiers. Add your own disc to the collection to commemorate friends or family touched by war, or simply add your own thumbprint. Souvenir discs will be available at venues participating in Hampshire’s Big Theme 1914 programme from April 2014. Great Hall, Castle Avenue, SO23 8PJ Tel: 01962 846 476 www.hants.gov.uk/greathall
Did you know? The College has recently launched Winchester College at War, an online searchable database of Winchester College’s Rolls of Honour which includes over 500 brief biographies commemorating every member of the school community killed during the First World War: www.winchestercollege.org
We’ve picked out some of the main attractions that will be marking the centenary of World War I with a programme of events. Use the symbols on this page to find events at the relevant venues on the listing overleaf.
Winchester’s Military Museums
Morn Hill Camps During World War I, Winchester became a major transit location for troops destined for the Western Front. It is claimed the Morn Hill Camps (pictured below) could accommodate more than 50,000 troops. By late 1917, Morn Hill was transferred to the US Army still in the role of a rest and transit camp. Between 1917 and the end of the war 700 to 800,000 American troops passed through the camps. New information boards will be unveiled during 2014 so visitors to the site can learn more about the military camps at Morn Hill. www.tohonourapromise.co.uk
Winchester College
World War One Day 14 Aug Living history display and children’s activities.
Trench Coat
Discover why our War Cloister, found within the precincts of the College and considered by some to be the most beautiful war memorial in Britain, was so controversial in the making. £5 per person (free for Old Wykehamists) Tickets must be pre-booked. See overleaf for dates and times. www.winchestercollege.org College Street, SO23 9NA Tel: 01962 621 209
Did you know? Hampshire Record Office offers help to people looking to trace their ancestry via army records: Go to www3.hants.gov.uk/archives/hals-collections/army-records.htm to find out more... Avington Park Camp
www.visitwinchester.co.uk
Winchester’s Story
The Gallery WWI-themed talks, exhibitions and activities throughout the year showcasing artefacts and memorabilia relating to the following regiments:
4 Oct - 21 Dec Explore the fascinating story of the trench coat from its humble beginnings in Hampshire, to its use by officers in the trenches of WWI and to its global iconic status as a wardrobe essential.
G
The King’s Royal Hussars
G
The Royal Hampshire Regiment
Soldiers' Journey
G
The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
City Space
G
The Gurkha Museum
G
The Adjutant-General’s Corps
Peninsula Barracks, SO23 8TS Tel: 01962 877 826 www.winchester militarymuseums.co.uk
We will remember them guided tours
Winchester Discovery Centre
Did you know? There are 15 WWI Victoria Cross medals currently on display in Winchester’s Military Museums. Further medals of Wintonians who have been awarded this honour are also on display in the Imperial War Museum.
11 Oct - 11 Jan 2015 The continuous coming and going of hundreds of thousands of soldiers from all over the world changed everyday life, for both the military and non-military. Discover how even the smallest villages in Hampshire were significantly influenced by the war. Jewry Street, SO23 8SB Tel: 0845 603 5631 www.hants.gov.uk/wdc
Winchester Cathedral Military tours will run throughout July, August and September. Contact the cathedral for more details. WW1 Tour & Tea, last Friday of every month (Jun to Nov). Tickets on sale now - £10 from the Cathedral Box Office and online. WW1 County Service, 22 Jun, 3.30pm Ticket information to follow Southern Cathedrals Festival ‘In War and in Peace’, 16-20 Jul. Tickets: www.southerncathedralsfestival.org.uk Vigil in the Cathedral, 4 Aug, 10-11pm 9 The Close, SO23 9LS Box Office: 01962 857 275 www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk
www.bigtheme.org.uk/1914
TSM0082-00319 Mar 2014 Produced by Winchester City Council
Understanding Winchester’s role: 1914 - 1918
Events to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War
This year it will be 100 years since the outbreak of the Great War. Winchester district has longstanding military connections and to mark this important anniversary there will be a variety of educational, commemorative and ceremonial events taking place in 2014. ‘Winchester’s Story’ runs from June to December 2014. It includes exhibitions and events across the district that focus on the human, social and economic impact of the outbreak of the war on the citizens of Winchester. Look out for World War I themed family friendly events too, with plenty of object handling, opportunities to try on uniforms and see re-enactors. There will also be a series of county-wide events at museums and galleries across Hampshire – find out more at: www.bigtheme.org.uk/1914 and for activities at the national level
APRIL
see www.1914.org which highlights centenary events and resources from across the globe.
6 Apr
War Cloister Tour, 2.30pm
26 Apr
Band and Bugles of the Rifles, Corps of Army Music
28 Apr – 3 May
Sebastian Faulks's Birdsong, Theatre Royal Winchester www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk
Southern Cathedrals Festival ‘In War and in Peace’
MAY
18 Jul
War Cloister Tour, 11am
18 May
27 Jul
War Cloister Tour, 2.30pm
Winchester Great War Pilgrimage, start at Chesil Street Car Park, 5.30pm
1 Aug – 15 Sep
A Call to Arms Exhibition, Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
14 – 15 Jun
War on the Line, Watercress Line
1 Aug – 14 Sep
Poppy Field of Remembrance, Serle’s House
To Honour a Promise Exhibition
2 – 30 Aug
Across the Black Water Exhibition, Gurkha Museum
War Cloister Tour, 2.30pm
4 Aug
Vigil in the Cathedral, 10- 11pm
WWI County Service, 3.30pm
8 Aug
War Cloister Tour, 11am
HM Lord Lieutenant's Annual Flag-Raising Ceremony
14 Aug
WWI Day
16 Aug
Fun for All Day, Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
28 Jun
National Armed Forces Day
31 Aug
War Cloister Tour, 2.30pm
29 Jun
Armed Forces Sunday Fun Day
SEPTEMBER
21 Jun – 21 Jul 22 Jun
Plan your visit
23 Jun
For more events across the Winchester district visit www.visitwinchester.co.uk Tel: 01962 840 500 Email: tourism@winchester.gov.uk
JULY
www.twitter.com/king_alf
4 Jul
www.facebook.com/ kingalfwinchester www.youtube.com/ visitwinchester
4 – 27 Jul
Did you know?
KEY Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Discovery Centre
Winchester College
Winchester Military Museums
The Great Hall
Other venue as described
Hursley - see www.twitter.com/hursley_park www.hursleyvillage.info/ 1914-2014.html With thanks to Pru Hatton from Winchester Museums who sourced images from the period.
AUGUST
10 Jun
22 Jun
There are 156 First World War Commonwealth war graves in Winchester and the surrounding district. The majority of those who died were evacuated from the Western Front as casualties or suffering from disease and died in hospital. 110 are buried in West Hill Cemetery and 37 in Magdalen Hill Cemetery.
War Cloister Tour, 2.30pm
JUNE
about the military history of Winchester, ancient and modern, with our military trail leaflet.
Did you know? Winchester Cathedral houses the First World War Rolls of Honour of The Hampshire Regiment (7,500 names), The King’s Royal Rifle Corps (12,824 names) and The Rifle Brigade (11,575 names), a total of 31,899. The Rolls of Honour, artwork and case studies are currently being digitised so that they can be made available online and via a touch screen to be installed in the Cathedral in 2016.
16 – 20 Jul
NEW Find out more
Look out for... ...a World War I themed floral display at the Bar End roundabout as you approach
Events calendar www.bigtheme.org.uk/1914
7 Jul
12 – 14 Sep
Winchester Poetry Festival, see www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org
13 – 14 Sep
Heritage Open Weekend events
13 Sep
Winchester College at War Exhibition, 10.30-12noon*
Waiting in the Wings of War, Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
14 Sep
Winchester College at War Exhibition, 2- 4pm*
14 Sep
WWI Commemorative poetry reading in the War Cloister
‘Why War’ Lecture by Professor Gary Sheffield, Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
27 Sep
Winchester College at War Exhibition, 10.30-12noon & 2-4pm*
28 Sep
Winchester College at War Exhibition, 10.30-12noon*
‘Gurkhas on the Western Front in the Great War’ Lecture by Gordon Corrigan, The Gurkha Museum
OCTOBER – DECEMBER
The Broadway, Winchester, c.1918 by local photographer A. Rapp
* Free admission to exhibition via the Porter’s Lodge on College Street. Group tours for the exhibition available on additional dates - book in advance on 01962 814 638 (contact number for exhibition only. For all other College events please see contact details overleaf).
4 Oct – 21 Dec 11 Oct – 11 Jan 2015
Trench Coat Exhibition
4 Nov
Rededication of 8th Division Memorial, Hursley Park Road, Hursley SO21 2LA
8 Nov - 9 Nov
Exhibition - Hursley during the Great War, Hursley Parish Hall, SO21 2JW (final venue tbc)
8 Nov (eve)
Concert - Hursley during the Great War in the words of those who were there, Hursley All Saints Church SO21 2JW (final venue tbc)
Soldiers’ Journey Exhibition