THE FINAL Colne Commemorates event, a two-day exhibition at The Town Hall timed to mark the centenary of The Armistice, has garnered widespread praise.
Hundreds of people visited the Heritage Lottery Fund supported Exhibition, which contained many interactive elements. Many left positive comments, with much praise for the involvement of Colne’s schoolchildren, with one elderly lady claiming that as a result of the outreach programme, her grandchildren were educating her on The Great War.
Exhibition organiser, Eleanor Jolley, explained: “We are so grateful to our volunteers, including: Shaun Wright who loaned us his Centenary Wall, Colne Historian, Geoff Crambie, Colne poet, John Williams and performers, Anne Chadwick and Eric Beardsworth. In terms of staging and managing this busy exhibition, we are deeply indebted to Mr Heath and his History pupils, who didn’t just work all day Friday on a range of unglamorous jobs with great good humour, but also chose to give up their free time to act as guides on both Saturday and Sunday.”
Leni, Kellie & Arlo Dobson.
The exhibition looked back across the three main Colne Commemorates events held in 2014, 2016 and 2018, as well as encompassing a wealth of output from its successful Primary Schools Outreach Programme.
Exhibition visitor, Marion McKiernon, commented: “John Willy, as always, had poems that were moving and relevant. Really enjoyed the airman’s talk, it was entertaining and informative.”
“Children from Park High School, you did your school proud and the young RAF pilot trying to recruit, you were excellent. Well done all”, said June Harris.
Cllr Sarah Cockburn-Price said: “I feel quite conflicted about the end of Colne Commemorates. It has been exhausting, but it has brought the community together in the most remarkable way. Hundreds of people have got involved and we have all learnt a great deal about Colne in The Great War. We were able to mount our events on a scale Colne Town Council could never have afforded to do without generous support from HLF in 2016 and 2018. We are now hoping to create a digital resource for people to explore. This will make our research available for future generations.”
