Type=image;ImageID=4076;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=World War One at Home;TitleClass=strong;
Type=image;ImageID=4080;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=First World War drama Regeneration will be staged at Grand Theatre;TitleClass=strong;
Type=image;ImageID=4082;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Work by Brian Yale;TitleClass=strong;
Type=image;ImageID=4079;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=The white feather and letter;TitleClass=strong;
Type=image;ImageID=4083;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=The Victoria Cross;TitleClass=strong;
This August will be 100 years since the start of the "war to end all wars", and the centenary will be marked by events around Wolverhampton between now and 2018.
They include acts of remembrance, exhibitions and stage plays, as well as activities for all the family.
The commemorations get underway when the BBC's flagship World War One at Home tour comes to West Park on Saturday and Sunday July 12 and 13, 2014.
World War One at Home reflects on the dramatic impact the war had on families and communities, as well as helping people to explore their own relatives' links to the war.
Visitors will be able to visit the briefing room for presentations hosted by BBC personalities including actor Larry Lamb, volunteer to be put through their paces on an outdoor parade ground and make their own ID permit to take away from the recruitment office.
They can also learn about how medicine and communications were transformed during the war, including demonstrations of how carrier pigeons were an invaluable resource for sending messages.
As the nation prepares to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the day Britain declared war - 4 August, 1914 - St Peter's Collegiate Church in Wolverhampton will be holding a prayer vigil on Sunday 3 August, 2014. The interfaith event will be open to people of all faiths and none and takes place from 7.15pm to 9pm.
Bantock House will stage its inaugural World War Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, 6 and 7 September, 2014. Featuring, nostalgia, re-enactments, period costume, music and stalls, it will take people back in time to both the First and Second World Wars.
Meanwhile, Bantock House Museum is also working with Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies with both venues hosting a series of exhibitions between August and November based on letters written during the conflict, including Letters Home at Bantock House from Thursday 14 August to Sunday 2 November, 2014. Bantock will also be staging free talks - Letters Home on Tuesday 2 September, 2014, and 1914 And All That on Tuesday 7 October, 2014 - and hosting The Trench Raiders, a sing along featuring popular First World War tunes which British soldiers put their own words to, on Saturday 1 November.
One of the most poignant artifacts on display at the City Archives will be a rare white feather - given to men accused of cowardice for not "doing their bit" for the war effort - which was sent to local man William Weller, despite him being excused from military service on medical grounds and because his work in Wolverhampton was deemed vital to the war effort.
City Archivist Heidi McIntosh will be giving talks about the discovery of the white feather at Wolverhampton Art Gallery on Friday 15 August and the City Archives on Wednesday 10 September.
Heidi and her team have also created a blog, Wolverhampton's War - Lost Voices From The Great War, to share stories of local men and women who were involved, both at home and abroad, building a picture of what Wolverhampton people experienced during the war.
The role of Bilston's factories in the war effort and the experiences of people who worked in them will be the focus of a special exhibition at Bilston Craft Gallery, Craft and Conflict, from Saturday 13 September to Saturday 22 November 2014.
Wolverhampton Art Gallery will be presenting paintings by Cradley-born artist Brian Yale from Saturday 26 July to Saturday 29 November, 2014, which were based on sketches made on the spot of some of the most famous and tragic battlefields of the First World War.
The Grand Theatre will be staging Pat Barker's unforgettable Booker Prize-nominated Regeneration, telling how poet and soldier Siegfried Sassoon was institutionalised in an attempt to undermine his public disapproval of the war. This compassionate look at war and its devastating effects is showing from Tuesday to Saturday 4 to 8 November, 2014.
Also in November, the Annual Festival of Remembrance will take on even greater importance this year. Held at the Civic Hall on Sunday 2 November, 2014, it will give people the chance to pay their respects to the Wolverhampton men and women who served their country in the First World War and subsequent conflicts. And with 2014 a hugely important anniversary, this year's festival promises to be one of the biggest yet.
Meanwhile, the Central Branch of the Wolverhampton Royal British Legion will be holding its annual Remembrance Sunday service on Sunday 9 November, 2014, and Armistice Day service on Tuesday 11 November, 2014, 96 years to the day that the First World War officially ended.
Visitors to the popular bonfire and fireworks displays at Hickman Park and West Park on Friday 31 October and Saturday 1 November, 2014, will also be able to pay their respects; both displays will feature a minute's silence and the Last Post before the sky is turned red by a poppy themed pyrotechnical display.
Many more events will be staged over the next few years, culminating in the laying of permanent tributes to 2 Wolverhampton men who received the Victoria Cross during the First World War.
Wolverhampton City Council will be receiving paving stones to commemorate Lance Corporal George Onions, born in Bilston in 1883, and Lance Corporal Roland Elcock, born in Wolverhampton in 1899, who received the award for their actions on 22 August and 15 October, 1918 respectively.
The paving stones will be laid in 2018 to mark the centenary of the award of the Victoria Crosses - two of just 628 bestowed during the entire conflict.
Councillor Elias Mattu, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Leisure and Communities, said: "The First World War touched every city, town and village in Britain; millions of our countrymen served and almost 900,000 died in action.
"The sacrifices they made and the losses that families around Wolverhampton and the rest of the country endured must not be forgotten. We should also remember the tremendous acts of bravery shown by people from Wolverhampton during the war, not least George Onions and Roland Elcock who each received the Victoria Cross for their valour.
"We have a duty to educate today's generation about what the country went through 100 years ago, and it is important that people in Wolverhampton are able to commemorate the anniversary of this terrible conflict."
More information about the various events and activities taking place in Wolverhampton to mark the anniversary of the First World War will be available in the coming weeks, and dedicated webpages will also be launched shortly.
The blog, Wolverhampton's War - Lost Voices From The Great War, is available Type=links;Linkid=3351;Title=here;Target=_blank;.
- released: Wednesday 4 June, 2014