In this centenary year Littlehampton Town Council is taking time to reflect on the past through the presentation of several Council and community initiatives.

The Town Council is participating in the nationwide “There But Not There” campaign and has installed nine transparent silhouettes of fallen WWI soldiers on the pews of St Mary’s Church in Church Street.

The “There But Not There” is a charitable project aiming to Commemorate, Educate and Heal. Commemorate those who died in the First World War through installations of silhouettes wherever there is a Roll of Honour.

To Educate all generations, particularly today’s younger generation, born nearly 100 years after the outbreak of WWI, to understand what led to the deaths of 888,246 British and Commonwealth service personnel. Heal today’s veterans who are suffering from the mental and physical wounds of their service by raising substantial funds through sales of the transparent figures.

The installation can be visited from Sunday 28th October to Sunday 11th November and sits alongside a cascading display of knitted and felt poppies, a project supported by volunteers and organised by Derek Moore MBE of the Littlehampton RBL Poppy Appeal.

Marking the centenary of the end of World War I and acknowledging the enormity of the sacrifice made by the people of Littlehampton in the Great War, the Town Council has funded a commemorative book. Entitled When I Have Done My Bit… Littlehampton and the Great War, the book contains images from the collections of the Littlehampton Museum. The book will be available from the Littlehampton Museum shop from 1st November, priced at £3. All profits from the sale of the book will be donated to Veterans Charities.

Residents will benefit from four commemorative benches, funded by the Town Council, which are being installed near the War Memorial in Beach Road. The benches depict images of the doves of peace and soldiers.

Speaking about the Town Council’s initiatives, Councillor Ian Buckland, Chair of the Community Resources Committee said: “The Town Council wished to mark the Centenary of the end of the Great War, and to celebrate the enormous contribution made by the people of Littlehampton. We have done our best with a range of initiatives and events to remember those who gave so much.”

The Town Council is also organising a Remembrance Day Parade and Service at the War Memorial on the morning of the 11th November and, later that evening at 6pm, the seafront beacon will be lit as part of a national event. One of thousands of beacons that will be ignited across the country, the night sky will be illuminated to honour the fallen and to symbolise the light of hope that emerged from the darkness of war. We must never forget the enormity of the sacrifice. More details available here www.visitlittlehampton.co.uk