Exhibition to remember Shetlanders who died in Battle of the Ancre
Lerwick Town Hall to host public First World War memorial
LERWICK Town Hall will host a public exhibition next week to mark the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Ancre during the First World War.
Twenty two young men from Shetland died in the battle, either during the fighting or from the injuries they sustained.
Eight of these were former pupils at Anderson High School in Lerwick.
The Battle of the Ancre took place from 13 to 18 November 1916 as the final phase of the four-month Battle of the Somme in Northern France – one of the largest Allied offensives of the war.
It saw British and Commonwealth troops launch an attack near the Ancre river, to push back the German-held line and to capture the villages of Beaucourt and Beaumont Hamel.
Several British infantry divisions were involved in the fighting, including the 51st (Highland) Division, formed mainly of men recruited from the Scottish Highlands and Islands.
Nineteen of the men from Shetland who died were Gordon Highlanders – 11 with the 51st Highland Division who attacked Beaumont Hamel, and eight with the British Army’s 3rd Division who attacked Serre, further to the north.
Most of these men had been ‘territorials’ who had all trained in Shetland, before leaving the isles on the troop ship SS Cambria in June 1915 and who soon found themselves on the Western Front.
News of the loss of life in November 1916 devastated the lost soldiers’ families across the isles and brought the cost of the First World War painfully close to home.
Lerwick Town Hall will be open across the weekend of 13-15 November with exhibits from Shetland Museum, and donated items from local families with connections to the Battle of the Ancre.
Displays will share historical details of this episode in the context of the First World War, as well as photographs and stories of the local men who fell in the battle.
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A short video will also show the journey of young Shetlander private Andrew Williamson, from Lerwick in 1914 to the trenches of France.
Shetland Islands Council convener Bryan Peterson said the Battle of the Ancre was “one of the darkest periods for our community during the First World War”.
“We must remember the lives lost and honour their memory.
“I’m grateful to all who have contributed exhibits and information for this special exhibition, and I hope that folk can find time to visit the Town Hall to help mark this important anniversary.”
Lerwick Town Hall will be open on Friday 13 November from 2pm-7pm, and on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November from 11am to 3pm each day.
The annual parade of remembrance will also take place on Sunday 8 November at the County War Memorial at Hillhead in Lerwick.
The public are invited to attend, with assembly from 10.40am and wreaths laid from 11am.
A Remembrance Day service will also be held at the Shetland Bus memorial in Scalloway at 3pm on Sunday.
Lerwick Town Hall will be lit red each evening from Wednesday 4 to Wednesday 11 November in support of the annual Poppy Scotland Appeal.
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