Young people to air new anthem and readings during remembrance week

Members of Explorer Scout groups and the Pomegranate Youth Theatre will join forces for the event at Chesterfield Museum on November 14.

The youth theatre received £25,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to explore some of the questions raised by the commemorations of the First World War.

Their award was part of a countrywide initiative in which millions of pounds was pledged to encourage communities to explore their Great War heritage.

The project in north Derbyshire, entitled Written in Stone, was created and led by Sheila Young of Dexter Productions and Carole Copeland from the Pomegranate Youth Theatre.

Helped by Chesterfield Museum, Chesterfield Library and Denise Coss, a group of young people researched the heritage and history of war memorials in the area and commemoration to discover their relevance to their age group today.

They explored the viewpoints and feelings of the Church, the Establishment, the war widows, the mothers and the veterans.

The voices of the soldiers are represented through their letters home about how they would like to be remembered.

The research enabled the young people to work with professional writer Sheila Young to write and develop a piece of theatre, culminating in a performance rehearsed and directed by Carole Copeland.

This piece was then performed to Explorer Scout groups in Calow, Chesterfield and Tupton.

Their responses formed the basis for workshops led by professional musicians Richard Stone and Rob Laughlin.

During the workshops, the Explorer Scouts learned about different forms of commemorative music and devised their own anthem.

To hear their creation and see other aspects of the project, including a film, visit Chesterfield Museum on Saturday, November 14 , from 11am to 2pm. Free admission.