News
Armistice Commemoration 3rd Nov 2018
The City of Wells Almshouses’ Chapel was the beautiful setting for an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armistice last Saturday evening, 3rd November. The Trustees arranged a recital of WWI songs and poems to a packed audience preceded by sherry and shortbread in the Guild Room.
Performers from near and far sang songs – some familiar, some less so – and readers presented poems by Charlotte Mew, Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke, A.E. Housman and John McCrae. We were also privileged to hear Bryn Whitcomb read his own poem “Sorry, Tommy”.
The musicians were Ana Maria Rincon who travelled down from London, and Somerset residents David Costley-White and Julian Walker. The readers were Almshouse resident Jean Brand and Trustees Andrew Fawcett and Chris Vigar, with Chairman of the Trustees Nick Wilson providing an introduction and thanks. It was a particularly lovely moment when, asked to sing an encore, Ana Maria and David sang “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” and the entire audience joined in the chorus.
A healthy retiring collection will go to the Royal British Legion and to the fund for renovating the Chapel, which is a hidden gem in Wells but which it is hoped will become much better known in the near future.
Almshouse resident Margaret Milnes, who attended said, “I thought it was wonderful. The singing and readings were wonderful. Visitors I spoke to were amazed at the decorations made by the almshouse residents. It was such a privilege to listen to such excellent performances in a small, intimate environment.”
