Council to Commemorate War on Commonwealth Day

On the morning of the 9th of March 2015, the Highland Council will be joining other Local Authorities across the UK in commemorating the centenary of the First World War by means of a Single Commemorative Act.

Members of the public are invited to attend the ceremony at the Old High Church, Inverness at 10.30am. This event will also mark National Commonwealth Day, beginning with a reading of the Commonwealth affirmation in both Gaelic and English before moving to an Ecumenical service, conducted by the Rev. Peter W Nimmo, incorporating the Single Commemorative Act.

There will be four lit candles on display in the church representing each year of the First World War; as part of the service, one of these candles will be extinguished in order to illustrate the feeling of darkness that came over Europe during World War One. This act will be repeated each year until all the candles have been extinguished, church lighting will then be used to symbolise how light ultimately overcame the darkness.

This act is the vision of Scott Taylor, the Highland Council’s Civic and Facilities Team Leader at the Town House, who submitted the winning proposal to NACO (the National Association of Civic Officers) as part of a National competition seeking ideas for a single, nationwide, ceremonial event.  

Provost of Inverness, Cllr Alex Graham, said: “This annual Single Commemorative Act will help to put into perspective the darkness that Britain felt during those four long years. The fact that all Local Authorities across the UK have been invited to take part at the same time is especially poignant and will reflect the way in which we all stood united during the war.” He added: “I would wholeheartedly recommend any members of the public to attend if they can do so.”