Centenary of the First World War

The Council honoured the sacrifices made by men and women who served in the armed forces by marking the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War One.

'Silent Soldier Silhouettes' from the Royal British Legion, which have poppy emblems and a base plate plaque with the text 1914-1918 and 'Lest we forget', were placed at the war memorials in Ormskirk, Skelmersdale and Burscough in October 2018.

Around the time of Remembrance Sunday the Clock Tower in Ormskirk and the Light Cube in Skelmersdale were coloured red to show wider community respect for the commemorations.

On Remembrance Sunday on 11 November 2018, a piper's tribute played 'When the Battle's O'er' in Coronation Park, Ormskirk, at 6am to mark the time when the Armistice was signed 100 years before.

Veterans' organisations, the Council, and a number of Parish Councils and local churches organised Remembrance Sunday Services during the day in Ormskirk, Skelmersdale and across West Lancashire as they do each year.

Then in the evening, a beacon was lit in Beacon Country Park at 7pm as West Lancashire joined more than 370 Councils and 1,000 beacon sites across the country in this collective act of respect and recognition. Prior to the lighting of the beacons at 6.55pm, the Last Post was played across the country.

The Chapel Gallery hosted a World War One Heritage Project recognising the role of Women during World War One, focusing on a number of women with strong links to West Lancashire. Funding was secured from Heritage Lottery to develop this in partnership with Edge Hill University and Ormskirk and District Family History Society. The exhibition "Opening the Gates", involved local schools and ran from 6 October 2018 until 19 January 2019.

The Borough Council also cleaned its memorials and made sure the flower and shrub beds in the memorial gardens were all tidy, and worked with Up Holland Parish Council to re-gild the name plaques on Up Holland War Memorial.

Residents who got a fruit tree through the authority's Free Tree Scheme were also given a pack of Flanders red poppy seeds.

The popular War Horse Walk leaflet was relaunched and made available from the Council Offices, the Customer Service Point at the Concourse Shopping Centre, Skelmersdale, and Ormskirk Library. It can still be downloaded from Discover Ormskirk (external link).