Yesterday was an important day for the UK as it marked 100 years since the government declared war on Germany. Once again, oddly enough, I found myself in the right place at the right time, in the capital on the 4th of August. Yet my first stop was to visit a group of women who were not commemorating the onset of war.
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) held a rally opposite Holborn tube station, near the site of Kingsway Hall (no longer in existence), recreating a rally held exactly 100 years before, in which suffragists petitioned the government not to enter the war. Though their petitions were ignored then, the WILPF, founded by several of the women who organised the rally, now works with the UN on women's issues.
The women made the most of the opportunity to draw parallels with modern wars, urging the government to cease selling arms and pursue negotiation instead. It was an interesting way to begin the day - a reminder, while we are remembering the sacrifice that so many people made, that the best way to honour the deaths of millions is to ensure that no more have to die as they did.
My next stop was St James' Park, where an extraordinary exhibition by photojournalist Michael St Maur Sheil displayed photos of WWI battlefields as they are today - beautiful, quiet places. Well worth a visit and the exhibition is open until the 11th of November (Remembrance Day).
On the Mall next to the park I stumbled upon the parade which had taken place earlier that morning, made up of Chelsea Pensioners and cars that would have been on the roads at the time that war was declared, parked up by the side of the road. Talking to a kid, one pensioner patted his red coat and called himself Father Christmas. "Thirty-eight years in the army. This is what I've got."
At 10pm lights went out across London. Though it wasn't a total blackout for safety's sake, it was still an impressive sight when the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Tower Bridge were plunged into darkness.
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) held a rally opposite Holborn tube station, near the site of Kingsway Hall (no longer in existence), recreating a rally held exactly 100 years before, in which suffragists petitioned the government not to enter the war. Though their petitions were ignored then, the WILPF, founded by several of the women who organised the rally, now works with the UN on women's issues.
The women made the most of the opportunity to draw parallels with modern wars, urging the government to cease selling arms and pursue negotiation instead. It was an interesting way to begin the day - a reminder, while we are remembering the sacrifice that so many people made, that the best way to honour the deaths of millions is to ensure that no more have to die as they did.
My next stop was St James' Park, where an extraordinary exhibition by photojournalist Michael St Maur Sheil displayed photos of WWI battlefields as they are today - beautiful, quiet places. Well worth a visit and the exhibition is open until the 11th of November (Remembrance Day).
On the Mall next to the park I stumbled upon the parade which had taken place earlier that morning, made up of Chelsea Pensioners and cars that would have been on the roads at the time that war was declared, parked up by the side of the road. Talking to a kid, one pensioner patted his red coat and called himself Father Christmas. "Thirty-eight years in the army. This is what I've got."
At 10pm lights went out across London. Though it wasn't a total blackout for safety's sake, it was still an impressive sight when the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Tower Bridge were plunged into darkness.
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