Children from Community Kids after school club at The Bay CE School in Sandown will be travelling to London this Friday (29th March) to meet Chelsea Pensioners at their home at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
At last year’s Hampton Court Flower Show, a group of Isle of Wight children sang uplifting World War I songs including ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ and ‘Pack up your Troubles’. The performance was so enchanting that the Chelsea Pensioners urged them to visit again. The same group had previously starred in a similar ‘Battlefields to Butterflies’ event at Osborne House.
On Friday, the children will be attending an exhibition hosted by the Royal Hospital commemorating the transition from WWI into peace.
The exhibition is ahead of the 100-year anniversary of the signing of the treaty of Versailles on 28th June 2019. Visitors to the exhibition can uncover the stories of war and peace as told through photographs, original artefacts and historical re-enactments.
Mike Fitt OBE, chairman of the Royal Parks Guild, who lives in Ryde said:
“The children have been marvellous throughout this project. At Osborne House they planted seeds for the commemorative WW1 wildlife garden. At last year’s RHS Hampton Court Flower Show they planted poppies in the WWI landscape created for the show and sang to the delight of the Pensioners and visitors alike.”
Mr Fitt added that the new exhibition would bring to life the important but under-explored roles that the Royal Parks played in WW1, along with the people who worked in them, some of whom went to war and didn’t return. The exhibition will use images, talks and displays to reveal the reality of war right through to the celebrations of peace.
The exhibition, a partnership between The Royal Hospital Chelsea, The Royal Parks and The Royal Parks Guild, will take place in the Royal Hospital Chelsea’s historic Wren House from 29th to 31st March (10:00 to 16:00). For more information visit: www.chelsea-pensioners.co.uk/exhibition.
