Ceramic poppies made by students at the Thomas Deacon Academy, a transparent military figure and early morning bagpipes are all part of the commemoration of the centenary of the 1918 Armistice at Peterborough Cathedral.
In the New Building at the east end of the Cathedral hundreds of poppies created by students from the Thomas Deacon Academy are now on display. The hand-painted, life-size poppies form a path to the statue of Our Lady, where people are invited to pray for peace. The poppies are also placed around the memorial to the Academy’s founder, Thomas Deacon.
The students were inspired to make the poppy path by the large art installation ‘Weeping Window’ by Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, shown at the Tower of London in 2014. In all the Academy students have made around 700 ceramic poppies, each one decorated by hand. They will remain in the Cathedral until 18th November when they will return to the school to be displayed there.
In the south aisle, near to the memorial to Edith Cavell, there is a transparent military figure. Linked with the national project, There but not There, this display is part of the Peterborough Commemorates Together initiative organised by Peterborough City Council and Vivacity. The figure in the Cathedral is placed in remembrance of women who gave their lives in the World Wars. A nearby panel tells the stories of Edith Cavell, the British nurse executed in Belgium during WW1, and Noor Inayat Khan, a WW2 British secret agent of Indian descent. Other silhouettes will be on display elsewhere in the city, at St Mark’s Church, All Souls Church, Peterborough Museum and Queensgate Shopping Centre. They have been financially supported by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund.
Sunday 11th November begins with bagpipes
Commemorations on Sunday 11th November will begin at 6.00am when a lone piper, Ian Baca, will play the retreat march, When the Battle’s O’er, outside the west front of the Cathedral. Pipers all over the country will be doing the same to mark the hour at which the Armistice of Compiègne was signed between the Allies and Germany. It came into effect at 11.00am that day.
The main service of Remembrance at the Cathedral is at 11.45am on Sunday 11th November, following the civic ceremony and two minutes’ silence at the war memorial on Bridge Street. Full details are online here: www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/143/section.aspx/142/armistice100
