The Eastern Education Group is hosting a series of events that will reflect, remember and commemorate Remembrance Day.
At West Suffolk College on Wednesday 8 November 2023 at the Milburn campus, staff and students will fall silent in front of a 12 metre by four metre tribute created by carpentry students, depicting iconic planes that were used in World War II.
One of the students who took a lead role in the creation of the plane design is Rion Lewis, 22, from Bury St Edmunds. The carpentry and joinery student said: “The design has a Hurricane, Lancaster Bomber and Spitfire with a blue background and separate poppies will be down the front of the display. I’ve been working on this for over a month. My grandad did basic training with the Scottish Black Watch and was deployed by the Royal Artillery and helped liberate Bergen Bolsen camp in 1945 at the age of 16. He was in the tank that pushed the gates down. This time of the year is a very poignant for me.”
Organiser of this event is carpentry lecturer, Brian Tunbridge. Brian said: “It’s open to the public and we normally get several hundred people from the college. We will also have representatives from the Royal British Legion, the Imperial War Museum, a group from Honington primary school are hoping to come along as our staff from the RAF base (in Honington). A choir from Conservatoire East called AMADO will also be performing.”
Brian has also worked with Bosmere Community Primary School to create a display with children that is situated in Needham Market and public service students are working with the Royal British Legion in and around Bury St Edmunds to raise funds for this benevolent cause.
Elsewhere across the group, One and Abbeygate Sixth Form Colleges will be having a two minutes silence at 11am on Friday 10 November 2023. University Studies at West Suffolk College will also be doing the same.