York Remembers: Tommy statue supports Armed Forces and mental health charities

York is supporting the national ‘there but not there’ appeal to raise £15 million for Armed Forces and mental health charities with its own tommy statue.

In Westfield, Councillors have been consulting on installing a “Tommy” figure (on a temporary basis) next to the War Memorial on Acomb Green.

The tommy art installation has seen silhouettes of First World War ‘tommy’ soliders appearing at locations across the country, including at the Tower of London and on the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.

The installations are a poignant reminder of the 888,246 British and Commonwealth soldiers – 1447 men and women from York – who died and of those who survived but suffered physical and mental scars. The silhouettes will tour the nation until Armistice Day to raise funds for a new charity called Remembered.

York’s tommy statue has been placed outside the customer entrance to West Offices, Station Rise.

The statue is part of York’s commemorations to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War. The city will host over 70 events, projects and exhibitions as part of a programme of events called York Remembers: lifting the shadow of the First World War.

The official programme for York remembers: Lifting the shadow of the First World War is available online at www.york.gov.uk/WW1Commemorations

The money raised from the tommy statues will be shared evenly between The Royal Foundation: Heads Together, Walking With The Wounded, Combat Stress, Help for Heroes: Hidden Wounds, The Commonwealth War Graves Foundation and Project Equinox: Housing Veterans.

For more information on the there but not there campaign visit www.therebutnotthere.org.uk/

In Westfield residents have giving their views on how the Acomb War Memorial gardenson The Green could be improved.  

Work is progressing on repairing the stonework on the Acomb War Memorial itself. The work, being undertaken by the Civic Trust, is expected to be completed by 11th November.

In a survey local Councillors asked what other improvements might be made.

The most popular suggestion was the provision of an interpretation board. This will be pursued if a sponsor comes forward. The cost would be around £1500.

The second most popular suggestion was the extension of the paving to form a path to the memorial from the entrance. At the moment access for wheelchair users is awkward.

Also popular was a proposal to crown thin the trees on the site. This would allow more sunlight into the garden and prompt more flower growth.

Both these suggestions are being followed up with the intention of the work being funded by the ward committee.

Tow other suggestions are under review.  The WW1 Centenary “Tommy” figure  (a silhouette of a soldier on perspex being promoted by the Royal British Legion) was intended only for a temporary display to mark the end of WW1.

Provision of a centenary seat attracted concerns from some residents who thought that it might become focal point for anti social behaviour.

 

Sofa dumped in play area

A sofa has been dumped in the Cornlands Road park play area. It is surrounded by rubbish. The issue has been reported to the Council but it is a shame that an area intended for use by younger children should be defaced in this way. Hopefully the Police will be able to increase patrols in the area.

 

Elsewhere at the recycling centre in the Acomb Car Park rubbish has been fly tipped. We’ve asked for the area to be cleaned up and for some of the recycling bins to be repainted.

 

What’s on in York: The Gothic Home and Family

Sep _26Gothic

York Explore Library :

Wed 26 Sep :

6.30pm – 7.30pm :

£5

An introduction to the origins of the literary Gothic in eighteenth-century Britain, discussing how three particular novels helped to define the terms in which the home and family have subsequently been represented in Gothic literature, art and film.

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, The Old English Baron by Clara Reeve and A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe demonstrate that the Gothic is nothing if not a self-referential mode, and this talk will be illustrated with literary and visual examples of its strange and (sometimes) funny as well as frightening metamorphoses over the past 250 years. Along the way it will ask what we mean when we refer to a cultural artefact as ‘Gothic’.

Author’s Biography:
Jim Watt teaches in the Department of English and Related Literature and the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of York. He is the author of Contesting the Gothic: Fiction, Genre and Cultural Conflict, 1764-1832 (Cambridge UP, 1999) and of essays and articles on the Gothic and other topics. His latest book British Orientalisms, 1759-1835 is forthcoming with Cambridge UP.

To book tickets please click here.

What’s on in York: Waterstones Presents – An Evening with Sir Max Hastings

Sep _24Max

York Explore Library :

Mon 24 Sep :

6.30pm – 8.00pm :

£5

Waterstones York are delighted to present author, journalist and broadcaster, Sir Max Hastings.

Sir Max will discuss his new book, Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy 1945-1975, a masterful chronicle of one of the most devastating international conflicts of the 20th century and how its people were affected.

No past volume has blended a political and military narrative of the entire conflict with heart-stopping personal experiences, in the fashion that Max Hastings’ readers know so well. The author suggests that neither side deserved to win this struggle with so many lessons for the 21st century about the misuse of military might to confront intractable political and cultural challenges. He marshals testimony from warlords and peasants, statesmen and soldiers, to create an extraordinary record.

Tickets available from Waterstones York

To book tickets please click here.