The Royal British Legion (RBL) and the Bingham Heritage Trails Association (BHTA) will commemorate the ending of World War 1 in 1918 to remember The Bingham Volunteers.
This year will be the 100th anniversary of the First World War. There will be commemorations of many sorts throughout the year, but the Bingham branch of the RBL, along with the BHTA, would like to stage three short events that will perhaps make the situation more personal for the people of Bingham.
In 1914, the town was a small rural community of around 1,500 people who, along with a very large portion of the British public at that time, became swept up in enthusiasm for the impending war.
Throughout the country there was a carnival atmosphere, many thousand volunteered to take part and flocked to get into uniform.
After all, it was all going to be “over by Christmas” and no young man worth his salt wanted to miss out.
We would like to capture something of the initial excitement and enthusiasm of 1914 by marching a small squad of “local lads” in period dress through the centre of the town on the Market Day and Saturday morning in the week preceding Remembrance Sunday.
They will be overseen by a recruiting sergeant in costume and cheered on by a small troupe of young ladies in Edwardian dress.
We would like the onlookers today, recognising the young men in the squad, to reflect that 100 years ago their predecessors would have known all of those going off to war.
Unfortunately, the war was not over by Christmas. What followed were four years of the most appalling slaughter and suffering before the survivors returned.
In Bingham’s case of the 300 that went to war, 36 young men died in the conflict.
On Remembrance Sunday we would like to capture this sombre reality, 36 of today’s young men wearing an identifying sash will form a guard of honour at the church.
When the congregation leave later the guard will have gone but their sashes will remain on a few lengths of barbed wire by the church door, in remembrance of their passing.
By Wally Rees