WW1 'Tommies' arrive in Warwick

The Bailiff of Warwick Court Leet, Mo Sutherland and the Lord of
the Leet, Warwick Mayor Cllr Richard Eddy, unveiling the Tommy at the Annual Bailiffs Dinner held earlier this month. Photo by Gill Fletcher. — The Bailiff of Warwick Court Leet, Mo Sutherland and the Lord of the Leet, Warwick Mayor Cllr Richard Eddy, unveiling the Tommy at the Annual Bailiffs Dinner held earlier this month. Photo by Gill Fletcher.

Two WW1 Tommies have arrived in Warwick as part of the lead-up to this year’s Remembrance services to commemorate one hundred years after the end of the First World War.

A six foot Tommy Silhouette purchased by Warwick Court Leet has been donated to Warwick and will feature in a number of events around the town starting with formal launch of the Warwick Poppies Project in St Mary’s Church.

The Tommy was unveiled at the Annual Bailiff’s Dinner, which was held earlier this month.

Another Tommy has also been purchased for the town.

The Warwick branch of the Royal Naval Association (RNA) has purchased a perspex seated silhouette. It was formally presented to and installed at the Lord Leycester Hospital on Friday September 21.

The Tommy will sit on the RNA’s 60th Anniversary bench.

The Tommies, which are being installed across villages, towns and cities across the UK, are a symbol of remembrance created by the charity Remembered, as part of their project “There But Not There” to remember the 888,246 British and Commonwealth lives lost in the First World War.

Photo by Lesley Langdon shows Brother Greg Beal, of The Lord Leycester Hospital receiving Tommy from President Bob Stevens and Chairman Derek Fletcher.

The aims of the project are to commemorate the fallen, to educate younger generations about the sacrifices made in WW1 and to help heal veterans who are today suffering from the hidden wounds of their service.

The funds raised through the sales of the Tommy figures will contribute to the work of a number of charities including Help for Heroes, Combat Stress, Heads Together and The Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.