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Apr 26

The Empty Chair

  • 26 April 2019
  • Article Extract, Memorials

As part of The Forget Never, (Oublier Jamais, Vergessen Niemals) project coordinated by the Basildon Borough Heritage Group and linked with Basildon’s twinning towns, Meaux in France and Heiligenhaus in Germany, a memorial called ‘The Empty Chair’ was installed at Lochnagar Crater in November. It was the culmination of work by the group and was carved by a local woodsman, Hannes Johannsen from Heiligenhaus, from an oak tree which had fallen during a recent storm but would have been a sapling at the time of the Great War and been passed by so many local young men going off to fight; many never to return. Empty chairs are used the world over to signify the loss and pain of missed loved-ones so it is fitting that such a memorial be made to those young men who would have never seen the tree again.

An article about the inauguration can be found here https://bit.ly/2DULpQs

About The Author

This article is an extract from The Friends of Lochnagar newsletter, a publication exclusive to the Friends. To get your exclusive issue and read full articles and be kept up to date on the Crater and activities JOIN NOW.

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