UK ‘LIGHTS OUT’ WWI event planned

A national event called LIGHTS OUT is being planned for August 4th, in memory of World War One.

Organiser The Royal British Legion says that event is inspired by Sir Edward Grey, the foreign secretary in 1914, saying on August 3rd that year: "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our life-time". The next day, Britain was at war.

On August 4th this year, people in the UK will turn off their lights from 10pm to 11pm, marking Britain entering the war on the same day in 1914.

A range of celebrities are endorsing the event, such as Twiggy, Louis Smith and Jeremy Paxman.

LIGHTS OUT will happen alongside a candlelight vigil at Westminster Abbey on the same evening.

In support of the LIGHTS OUT event, Centenary candles are being sold by Marks and Spencer to help the Legion.

The charity's director of fundraising, Charles Byrne, has explained that it wants more than a million candles to be lit UK-wide to commemorate the servicepeople who lost their lives in the historic war.

"We hope to see candles lit at every war memorial, community centre and home in every village and in every community," he said.

LIGHTS OUT is just one of the things the charity is doing to mark the First World War centenary, he said.

"We hope to pass the torch of Remembrance onto a younger generation ensuring there will always be a living legacy to those who sacrificed their today for our tomorrows," he explained.

Poppyscotland is responsible for LIGHTS OUT north of the border.

Its head of fundraising Colin Flinn said that Scotland had a big contribution to the war and all communities were touched "by its devastating impact".

The LIGHTS OUT event will let Scots and other people in the UK honour the people who died in the war and those impacted by war today, he added.