Remembering the outbreak of WW1

EVENTS to mark the start of World War One are being held in Oldham.

Britain declared war on Germany at 11pm on August 4, 1914, ushering in one of the darkest periods in history.

On Sunday at 8.30pm, at the junction of St John Street and Stamford Road in Lees, a candlelight vigil will be held.

Monday, the day of the anniversary, will see all the names on the war memorial at St Margaret’s Church in Hollinwood, read out at 7.30pm during a solemn requiem mass for the war dead.

John Fidler will give a lecture on how the first five months of the war affected those who joined the armed forces and those who were left behind, on Monday at 7pm at Oldham Archives in Union Street.

Also on Monday, everyone across the country is asked to turn their lights off between 10 and 11pm to remember those who fought and died. In Oldham, a single light will be left on in the 14th floor of the Civic Centre to mark the event.

The event commemorates British foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey’s remark on the outbreak of war: “The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”

There is also a Twitter discussion #LightsOutOldham and a special website: www.oldhamremembers.org.uk