The Surrender & Sanctuary project is holding a festival of activities to commemorate the centenary of the surrender of over 168 U Boats in 1918, and the 80th anniversary of the arrival of the first Kindertransport in 1938. The programme consists of two themed weekends (17th/18th November and 1st/2nd December) starting the Saturdays with two event trains from Manningtree station with a carriage of entertainment to start the events in style, then a day of talks from guest speakers and theatre performances in the Mayflower Centre in Harwich and sites in Dovercourt.
As well as the themed weekends, from the 19th November there will be a week exhibition of U Boat surrender watercolours from the Imperial War Museum at The Pier Hotel, never before displayed in Harwich, and a complimentary art session on the 24th November calling on local artists to be inspired ready for an exhibition in May 2019. The commemorations continue with a U Boat and World War One walk in Shotley at 11am, followed by an afternoon parade with entertainment and food at the Harwich Sailing Club surrounding a large 15metre willow U-Boat on Harwich Sea front on 18th November, decorated by 168 flags decorated by the local community representing each U Boat.
Equally, a new Kindertransport exhibition will be on display from the end of November, with a winter tapestry project workshop for budding crafters starting on 28th November at the Old Bank Studios to retell the memories of the journey and time in Dovercourt in fabric form. The finale of the Kindertransport programme culminates in a flash-mob style recreation on train stations on 3rd December, with volunteers and actors re-enacting short scenes of the journey taken from original stories and letters. A chance for modern travellers to pause and remember what was happening exactly 80 years ago to thousands of children.
Download the programme leaflet here
