Commemorating WW1 Centenary

Churcher’s College remembered the Centenary of the anniversary of the Armistice in a number of ways in 2018.

Senior School Remembrance Service

The Senior School's annual Remembrance Service was especially poignant this year.

The Reverend Canon Will Hughes, Vicar of Petersfield and Rector of Buriton, joined VIP guests for a whole school assembly which included a short film featuring Old Churcherian Ken Webb, remembering with great clarity and emotion at 92 years of age, his time serving in WW2 - you can watch this below:

Pupil's Poem

Another highlight was the reading of the poem ‘A Holiday’ which appears in a new book entitled ‘Never Such Innocence’. The poem was composed by a Churcher’s pupil and the book was celebrated at a recent reception at a Buckingham Palace. The royal reception was one of a huge number of events taking place around the world at this time, close to the 11th of the 11th, 100 years since the end of the 1st World War.

New War Memorial

The special assembly was followed by the dedication of our newly constructed war memorial which remembers Old Churcherians who have fallen. Our Senior CCF cadets led the way to the war memorial, followed by a banner party where they laid wreaths in a special service of dedication led by Reverend Canon Will Hughes. The Churcher’s College Wind Band played alongside.

Today we complete the work the Old Churcherians began almost a century ago.

Simon Williams, Headmaster of Churcher’s College, said: “The history of the war memorial begins in 1919 when it was decided to honour the fallen through the purchase of a patch of land to be called Memorial Field and to build a War Memorial next to it with the names of those that had died inscribed upon it. Memorial Field was bought and it is where the 1st XV pitch is now. But after purchasing the land for playing fields there was only enough money for a small plaque on a wall. Today we complete the work the Old Churcherians began almost a century ago.”

Click on the image below to view the Flickr gallery:

Churcher's College at Petersfield Remembrance Service

Sunday 11th November – Churcher’s Wind Band played at the Remembrance Service in the Town Square in Petersfield on Sunday 11 November 2018 where our CCF (including a platoon from TPS) paraded along with Veterans, Air Cadets, Cubs, Scouts, Brownies and Guides, the Salvation Army band and T.S. Active MTC Marching Band (Training Ship Active, a Maritime Training Corps) along with other bodies.

Other schools in the town were also involved; Bedales provided the bucket collectors, Ditcham Park, TPS and Herne Junior School joined the St Peter’s Choir to support the hymn singing and Churcher's College provided the orders of service and technical support both in the Square and at the town's War Memorial. The names of the fallen were read by ATC cadets and cadets from our CCF.

Click on the image below to view the Flickr gallery:

Remembrance Concert

On 7 November 2018, the Choirs and Orchestra of Churcher's College Senior School performed a Remembrance Day Concert at St. Peter's Church, Petersfield in aid of the Royal British Legion. 

Centenary Painting

As part of our WW1 centenary commemorations, a giant painting (5m x 3m) by A Level art student Pippa Tuffin has been positioned on the exterior of the Senior School Art Block.  A huge well done to Pippa for a stunning piece for such a milestone event.

Silent Soldiers

Churcher’s College additionally commissioned an art installation of 54 Silent Soldiers on the roundabout near the Senior School entrance. Each one represents one of the 52 old boys and 2 gardeners who made the ultimate sacrifice in WW1.

Senior Play - Journey's End

To round off our Centenary commemorations, this term's Senior Play will be 'Journey's End' by R.C. Sherriff - the WW1 play set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne in 1918.

Junior School Commemorations

Churcher's College Junior School commemorated the WW1 Centenary in a number of ways including a poppy installation, speaking to elderly members of the community from the Peak Centre about their war time experiences and holding a special remembrance assembly welcoming 94-year-old World War II veteran, Arthur Bailey (First Class Trained Airborne Soldier) who recounted his part in the D-Day Landings, and Corporal Montgomery Buick, SAS Falklands veteran.