Project Description

The project was financed by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s ‘First World War – Then and Now’ funding stream, along with local fundraising and donations from local individuals and organisations. Our first project events were held in August 2014; an exhibition featuring research into the wartime service of residents from the village of Beer, three lectures by visiting speakers (two from Imperial War Museums), and a centenary reconstruction of the departure from the village, on 3rd August 1914, of men who were members of the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR). This involved a procession through the village, guided by how the scene was depicted in contemporary photos, and featured members of original families (some wearing their ancestors’ medals) along with present-day members of the RNR. In addition, a website was created to hold the results of the research into the residents of Beer who served during the conflict. We also ran an art competition for local schoolchildren, who offered creative responses to the image depicting the scene in Beer on 3rd August 1914 as the RNR contingent departed. On the evening of 4th August 2014 we staged a ‘Lights Out’ event to mark the exact centenary of the moment Britain went to war. Over one hundred people carrying candles and lanterns gathered to listen to readings at the village war memorial. At 11pm, all these lights were extinguished. On 19th July 2019 we marked the centenary of Peace Day in 1919 with another village procession. Children from Beer Primary School each carried a plaque with the details of someone from the village who had served during the war. At the parish church the names of the fallen were read out, the first occasion on which all those concerned had been acknowledged by name. The project continues with the creation of a memorial avenue of thirty small-leaved lime trees on the edge of the village, overlooking Lyme Bay. Twenty eight of the trees will each be dedicated to one of the village men who died, whilst the other two will feature plaques that list more than 200 others who served and survived. The project has been heavily delayed by bad weather and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, but we hope to complete this final part in early 2021.
Beer, Devon, 3rd August 1914

Organisation

Organised by

The Beer 2014 Group

Region

South West England

Location

EX12 3LX

Event

Focus and Research

Resources used for research

The National Archives; Devon Heritage Centre; Somerset Heritage Centre; Genealogy records accessed online; Locally held family material.

Project Evaluation