I have just completed an IT course (BTEC level 2) and have many passions and hobbies, one of these being photography.
Having already gained some good experience through a photography project for Whitwick Parish Council, I was keen to take up a second opportunity to help Heritage First with the Coalville Memorial project.
So, over the past few weeks, I have been taking photographs of the local area for the exhibition which will tour the area in the run up to Remembrance Day.
I was given the task of taking pictures of many memorials in a range of locations, mainly churches and graveyards, as well as places like Newbridge Highschool. Along the way I met many kind and helpful people.
The experience I have gained has been amazing and I have learnt a lot about both World War One and World War Two. I learnt and looked into the massive development of technology, the traditions people kept and the improvements on women’s rights the two world wars brought about.
Through my experience, I did see and learn unfortunate things from both the past and in the present. The death of men, the struggles through food shortage and the trauma a lot of people suffered and may still suffer as a result of these conflicts.
I also discovered that in the graveyards which I visited there are a lot of neglected gravestones of soldiers and others. These gravestones are broken or covered in weeds and I couldn’t help feeling bad for these forgotten heroes.
But ultimately, Remembrance Day is not all about the bad, but about how the sacrifices of others brought about peace and about remembering the good times people shared in the past and now, in the present.