LANDMARKS across a county are being illuminated red over coming days on the lead up to Remembrance Sunday.

Special lighting will cast a red glow across six selected buildings across County Durham as a stunning visual reminder of the poppies which bloomed on First World War battlefields.

The Town Hall and County Hall, in Durham, Bishop Auckland Town Hall, and the War Memorial in the Market Place, Chester-le-Street, will all be lit from 9am until 10pm each day, with the sites best viewed as daylight dims, after 4pm, from today until Sunday.

Barnard Castle’s Butter Market and the Cenotaph and Poppy Fence, at The Green in Seaham, will also be lit between 4.0 and 7pm during the same five days.

Other outdoor commemorative displays include a light projection at the For the Fallen war poem site, on the wall of Clayport Library, in Durham, while a canopy of poppies, knitted by the Women’s Institute (WI), will appear outside Bishop Auckland Town Hall.

WI members have also decorated All Saints Church, in Newton Hall, Durham, with more than 400 poppies, while an image of falling poppies will be displayed on screens in all council buildings and on outdoor screens, at Elvet Bridge and outside the Gala Theatre, in Millennium Place, also Durham.

Durham County Council leader Amanda Hobgood said: “Women’s Institutes, community groups and residents across the county have, this year, created more amazing displays throughout our communities to commemorate the sacrifices our service men and women have made for us all.

“It is so important that we all reflect on these sacrifices made by members of the armed forces, past and present, and we are pleased to be able to once again light up our buildings in our own tribute to the fallen.

“Our forces personnel make an invaluable contribution to our communities.

“We are all so grateful for all they have done and continue to do to keep us safe. “Remembrance provides us with a unique time when people of all ages come together to pay tribute to our service personnel, and it is an honour to be a part of that this year.”

Nicola Meredith, area manager for the Royal British Legion in the North East, said: “This year, the Royal British Legion (RBL) is marking its centenary, 100 years since we set out on our founding mission to fight for the rights of those who had given so much and come back to so little.

“Today, the RBL continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with our armed forces community, and we are delighted to see that the torch of Remembrance is still burning brightly across County Durham.”

Online activities have also been arranged by the council to commemorate Remembrance Day.

People can listen to a selection of four war poems ready by Gerald McNally, who donated an anthology of recorded First World War poems to the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Collection.

There are also recordings of When the Bugle Calls, a temporary exhibition created with items from the DLI Collection, in 2018.

A minute’s silence will be held outside Durham Town Hall, tomorrow, at 11am, while Durham Cathedral hosts a Festival of Remembrance, on Saturday, at 7pm.

Anyone interested in the online events should visit www.durham.gov.uk/remembrance, for further information.

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