04/08/2014 East Midlands Today

Good evening from the village of Brassington in Derbyshird

for a special programme marking the day 100 years ago when Britain

As the clock ticked round to 11pm on that fateful evening of

August the 4th, 1914, no`ond could have imagined

just how bloody and brutal the coming conflict would be.

It left its mark on almost dvery town and village in the country

If we step inside the church of St James, we can see the melorial

plaque which bears the names of those men from Brassington who

It is headed, to the glory of God and a sacred to the memory of..

There is the list. James Banks. Joseph Henry Ellis. Frank and

William Gould. Three separate pairs of names on this memorial plaque,

detailing perhaps just how destructive the war was and how

personally it would be felt in villages like this.

It's been a day of commemoration right across

the East Midlands as communhties have marked the 100th annivdrsary

Marching proudly to a commeloration, old soldiers joined the people of

Hilton in remembering their fallen. We have gathered here today to

remember all those from this community... On a former Arly base,

25 trees have been planted to remember the Hilton men who were

lost in three 20th`century wars including a team from the Great War.

We have an uncle, James Andrew, who died in the First World War, we have

a cousin, Eric Charles Blood, who died in the Second World War. And

also, a second cousin, Robert Blood, who also died in the First World

War. A stone with all the n`mes was unveiled by a local man, Prhvate

Callum Bowley of the Mercian Regiment. In Hilton Village Hall, an

exhibition of the history of all those who died, including D`vid

Amos, who was killed at the end of the Battle of the Somme. His effects

are here and with his grandson, including his watch. I alwaxs wind

it up and if you listen to ht, you can hear the ticking, I feel that is

his heart. He was on night patrol and he was killed by an explosion.

The union flag was lowered to half`mast. Inside, next mission

detailing how do great work changed Nottinghamshire, as well as

commemorating those who lost their lives. People seem to spend a long

time in the gallery, they sdem to be bowled over by the impact of it At

Eastwood, the Memorial Garddns have become only the second centdnary

field in the country. It is now a protected site to mark the tltimate

sacrifice made by local people 00 years ago. This garden will be a

memorial for all the people in the area of Broxtall who died in those

wars, and it will be a lasthng reminder. In Leicestershire, Ashby

Pusey has opened its own Grdat War exhibition. `` Ashby Museum. Telling

the stories of some of the hundreds of men from North West

Leicestershire who died durhng World War I. This exhibition reprdsents

just a few of the men who dhed in the North West Leicestershire area.

They represent over 900 people who gave the ultimate sacrifice, some of

them so young. At Stamford, a whole festival of commemoration. Ht began

with the Mayor or procession through the town and among its ranks,

soldiers of the future from the local Army Cadet Force. Watched by

soldiers from past conflicts. The commemorations are conthnuing

this evening, here and across the country, to mark

the hour that war was declared. These Lights Out events, organised

by the Royal British Legion, are moments for reflection hnspired

by the words of the then Brhtish Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey,

who said on this day 100 ye`rs ago, "The lamps are going out all over

Europe, we shall not see them lit again in

our lifetime." 100 years ago, Europe was dominated

by Emperors, a Kaiser and a Tsar. Closer to home,

Britain's second city It's difficult to comprehend how

different everyday life was in 914. Our political editor John Hdss has

been discovering how our MPs then He starts his report in

Downing Street. So, imagine what it must have been

like 100 years ago as the then Prime Minister Herbert Asquith faced the

prospect of Britain at war with Germany. Asquith was a Primd

Minister of a coalition Govdrnment, sounds familiar? He led a Lhberal

government in coalition with the Irish Parliamentary party. Ht was an

issue of independence for Ireland. Our MPs were more concerned about a

looming civil war in Ireland than the drumbeat to war in Europe. That

all changed when Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, warndd MPs

that the Army of the Kaiser sweeping through Belgium would obligd Britain

to defend Belgian neutralitx. An MP from Leicester was not convhnced.

Ramsay MacDonald is probablx better known as the Prime Minister of the

first`ever Labour Government after the First World War, but he was also

one of the first Labour MPs, elected to represent Leicester. In the

Commons, Ramsay MacDonald s`id he was not convinced of the nedd for

war and that the verdict of history may eventually agree with hhm and

not so Redwood. Within 24 hours Britain war and Sir Edward Grey

Craig, from the windows of the front office, made his warning, the lamps

are going out all over Europe, they will not be lit again in our

lifetime. Mobilisation was not without problems. Lord Kitchener

needed recruits. The MP for Mansfield, illiberal, gained

prominence to campaigning against underage boys being enlisted.

Investor, recruitment was along the lowest in Britain because of the

strong anti`war sentiment. `` in Leicester. MPs had other concerns,

why had recruits not been issued with razors and spoons? Why were

retired medical officers not getting a full kit allowance, Sir Hdrbert

Raphael demanded an answer. And what of Derby's new Labour MPs, Jimmy

Thomas, exposed businesses that were still trading with Germany, despite

a Government trade ban. The war to end all wars may have been 000 years

ago, yet the concerns of our MPs then seem strangely familiar now.

I have moved down now from the church to the millennium se`t, and

earlier this evening, the n`mes of the men who served their cotntry

from Brassington were read out in a special roll call. Mike Rosd,

Chairman of the local branch of the Royal British Legion, read out the

names as a mark of respect. Joseph Henry Ellis. William Webster Gould.

William Herbert Grattan. Well, I am joined by some of the villagers and

members of the Royal British Legion. You have helped to organise this,

who has it gone? Very well. It has been a beautiful might. We just

wanted to mark the centenarx of the First World War and pay respects to

all the millions who died. H think you have done the village proud

Mike, what is the response? It is 100 years on, it is a long time

since the war started. You think it is a long time, but we have to

remember these people who wdnt to war in 18, 90 years `` 19 ydars of

age and gave their lives for us and for how we live today lost because

it was turning point in the century. From that point of view, I think we

should be very grateful to them Brassington suffered a lot, there

was a huge impact on the yotng men here. There must have been. 17

villagers lost their lives out of about 35. One village just down the

road had no body. One of thd thankful villages, as it was called.

But a proud moment for the Royal British Legion, the responsd today

and tonight? Very much so. H am pleased to see the way everxthing

has gone. I think it has rehgnited the events in the last few days

that suddenly, young people have realised what happened 100 xears

ago, it has reignited that hnterest. It certainly has. Thank you very

much to all of you. We will leave you tonight from Brassington, with a

rendition of the last post on what has been a day of intense and

incredible commemorations. We were there earlier at the Crich Stand in

Derbyshire, the memorial to the men of the Sherwood Foresters who went

to war and never came back. Those soldiers are in our minds again

tonight. Good night. We have had a fairly quiet start, it

has been dry and bright with a good deal of warmth. Not much ch`nging

for the next 24 hours, we whll stay dry throughout tomorrow. Thd

sunshine will be around through the morning and cloud will incrdase

again in the afternoon. But temperatures going back up hnto the

20s. A couple of showers thhs evening which are starting to fade.

The cloud will melt away as well, so dry and clear. Like winds, so it

will be quite cold, but temperatures are sliding into single figtres for

some. Around eight or nine Celsius. Tomorrow, a bright start, bdautiful

sunshine through the morning, cloud increasing as we approach the

afternoon. The chance of a shower although most places will stay dry.

Temperatures up to around 22. That's all from us, here is the outlook.

Quite a fresh evening out there this evening. It's going to turn chilly

in a few spots by the early hours of Tuesday. Underneath the clear,

calm, tranquil conditions... Not completely clear because there are a

few showers. You may have been caught out in some across the South

today. After midnight, you can see the vast majority of the UK has dry

weather, whereas Cornwall, Devon, just about nudging into Wales,

possibly Northern Ireland and the south-west of Scotland, a few

showers. But clear skies is the story tonight. Colder in rural

spots. The Glens of Scotland, really nippy first thing on Tuesday. It

starts off sunny for many of us Tuesday is going to be a bit of an

East-West split. In the afternoon, across the south-west we will see a

few showers, a bit of sunshine too, not such a bad