by Rebecca Hannant
The Friends of St Nicholas Church, Withernsea Churches Together and the Withernsea branch of the Royal British Legion are gearing up to commemorate the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day.
Following the repair and restoration of the war memorial clock at St Nicholas Church, Friends of St Nicholas chairman Darrin Stevens said that since last year he had been in talks with all the leaders of the churches that form part of Withernsea Churches Together.
He said bringing the events to St Nicholas would mark an important milestone and help restore its place in the community.
Darrin said: “We spoke to Rev Clive Hall last year, as the Withernsea churches take turns doing the services each year. But because it’s the 80th year, I wanted to bring it back to St Nicholas Church, which they agreed to.
“In a letter in 1945, Rev Passmore brought all the churches together for the clock, and this year I wanted to recreate that. It’s important for each of the churches to do their bit, so I am impressed that the leaders have come together and recognised the importance of the clock and St Nicholas in the act of remembrance.
“We are going to be involved in VE and VJ Day and also the Remembrance service, so the connection has now come together. This will be an important time for the church because we’ll be able to show its significance through several events, which is what the clock stood for. It’s bringing the church back to the heart of the community.
“Getting the clock finished was very significant. People will be able to hear the church bells, which is especially meaningful because last year I didn’t think it could be done.”
Throughout the year, the church will host and take part in several events commemorating each milestone – from bell ringing to attending the lighting of the beacon.
Bunting has already gone up in the church, and the church is encouraging businesses across the town to follow suit.
Donations of knitted poppies have been gathered to create a St Nicholas Church cascade, which will be displayed around each anniversary. The Friends of St Nicholas Church have worked alongside Darren England, president of the Withernsea Royal British Legion, to make the cascade.
The pair decided to create the display after seeing the success of the poppy cascade over Withernsea’s Pier Towers in the past two years. The cascade will run to commemorate VE Day from May 5 to May 11, VJ Day from August 11 to August 17, and Remembrance Day from September 1 to September 12.
Darren said: “Having made a cascade for Pier Towers, I always wanted to hang one on St Nicholas Church and, with the help of the ladies of the South Holderness knitters and crocheters, we are going to make this a reality.
“For the past few weekends, with the help of the Friends of St Nicholas, I have been tying thousands of poppies on to the netting.
“This will be placed on the church in the week of the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Days. Besides all the events happening on VE and VJ Day, St Nicholas will be ringing the bells twice throughout the day – at 11.02am and 6.30pm – in line with the rest of the nation.”
On Thursday, May 8, at 9am, there will be a proclamation with flag-raising at Pier Towers.
At 11am, there will be a service at the New War Memorial, which will feature standards and a bugler. At 11.02am, the bells at St Nicholas Church will ring 80 times.
At 6.30pm, the church bells will ring again 80 times, in line with the rest of the country. At 9.30pm, the Withernsea beacon will be lit, with representatives of Withernsea present.
More events will be announced in due course. For more information and to find local VE Day events, visit ve80.com.