FROME will unite for a Weekend to Remember – marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
The event will bring together the history of Frome between 1939 and 1945 for all generations to see.
Running from Friday to Sunday, November 7 to 9, Weekend to Remember get underway with a Frome Festival of Remembrance at the Memorial Theatre, which this year has been unveiling plaques to the fallen of the Great War 1914-1918 for 100 years.
All generations will take part in the commemoration service, which will feature history, original video interviews of Frome veterans, and music led by children, the Frome Musical Theatre Company and Frome Town Band.
The evening will finish with a Drumhead Ceremony and Act of Remembrance with Standards of the Royal British Legion, Royal Naval Association and Royal Air Force Association.
The following day will begin at 9.45am from the Memorial Theatre, with the first of three war grave walks, taking place throughout the day.
A reading of the Roll of Honour of the fallen of WW2 will take place at the Memorial at 11am, then, at 2pm, in the Assembly Rooms, the premiere of a series of Frome amateur archive films taken during 1939-1945 will be shown.
At 7pm, the public is invited to dress up in 1940s costume and ‘go to the pictures’ for a special showing of the epic 1942 Noel Coward film, In Which We Serve, at the Memorial Theatre, formerly known as the Grand Cinema.
A Weekend to Remember will end on Sunday with the Annual Parade and Act of Remembrance at 10.55am, at the Frome Memorial.
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Jane Norris, from the Frome Branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “This will be a once-in-a-lifetime weekend, and will record the history of Frome during WW2 in a lively, relatable way, with anecdotes, humour and respect.
“It is including everyone and all generations, by bringing to life the history of those who stayed and worked or who went to school in Frome; the many who left, some not to return, and many more who left and returned but who never spoke about their time, until much later in life.
“In collaboration with local author and historian David Lassman of Frome Heritage CIC, and in the only possible venue of The Frome Memorial Theatre, we are aiming to create a legacy weekend. We honour the past by passing onto the next generation.”
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