1st World War ‘Tommies’ in Great Aycliffe
Great Aycliffe Town Council is proud to participate in the nation’s commemorations of the centenary anniversary of the end of the First World War. As part of this remembrance, two life-size hollow outlines of ‘Tommy’, a First World War soldier, have been purchased and installed in the parish of Great Aycliffe, one outside St Clare’s Church in Newton Aycliffe and a second on The Green in Aycliffe Village. The Mayor of Great Aycliffe, Councillor John Clark, pictured here with one of the figures said, ‘the Tommy figures are an evocative reminder to the residents of Great Aycliffe of the loss of life in the First World War and the Town Council is honoured to participate in the centenary commemorations’.
The figures stand in a swathe of growing poppies, as part of the There But Not There campaign and are intended to be a poignant reminder of the 888,246 British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the war, and of those who survived but suffered physical and mental scars.
The figures are produced nationally to raise funds for a new charity called Remembered, which aims to raise £15million for Armed Forces and mental health charities.
