First World War Victoria Cross Commemorative Paving Stone unveiling.
Today Amrit Kaur Lohia represented UKPHA at an event commemorating First World War heroes:
On the 4th November I was given the opportunity to represent UKPHA at the unveiling of three designs for the Victoria Cross paving stones commemorating the First World War heroes at ‘The Rag: Army and Navy Club’.
The stones will have the names of 430 Britons who were awarded the Victoria Cross during the War and will be placed in the hometowns of the heroes across the country.
Unveiling them was Secretary of State Eric Pickles. Pickles talked about his own connection with the war as his grand-parents were witness to it.
He also emphasised the importance of the telling the history and stories of war to the young generation.
I got the opportunity to speak to him about the Sikh involvement in World War 1 and he was surprised to know how involved Sikhs were in the Frist World War efforts, especially the campaigns in Gallipoli and the Somme.
I also got the chance to tell him how British officers would wear turbans on the fields of the western front in order to confuse German snipers!
Lance Sergeant Johnson Beharry the first living recipient of the Victoria Cross in more than 30 years was also there to unveil the stones.
Also in attendance were many families of serving soldiers and ex-servicemen and women who had many war stories to tell from their family histories.
As an advocate of youth empowerment and involvement, the event was given another dimension of meaning to me as two of the stones were designed by primary school and secondary school students as part of a nationwide competition which re-enforces the idea of localising the commemorations and involving everyone – especially young people.
The architect Charlie MacKeith designed the winning paving stone. The idea of localising nationwide commemorations of WW1 resonated throughout the event.
Not only are these stones bringing history closer and more accessible to the general public it is making use of technology to enhance accessibility.
From what I understood, passers-by will be able to scan their phones across it and have the history of those particular heroes sent straight to their phone – how cool is that?!
For further information click here.