World War I Commemorative Play Helps Present Day Veterans
The play 'The Great War 1914-1918 and a Haddenham Village School' told the stories of pupils of St Mary's Church of England School a hundred years ago and the way the Great War affected their lives and those of the villagers during 1914 – 1918 and afterwards. The production played to capacity audiences in St Mary's parish church on 14/15 November – see separate report here. A DVD is also available – see here.
On Thursday 18th December 2014, at the last school assembly of 2014, the proceeds from the play (£1,250 in total) were presented in Haddenham St Mary's School as two outsize cheques to Help for Heroes, represented by retired RAF Wing Commander Graham Tyack, and to the Royal British Legion, represented by retired Major George Marshall and his wife Jeanne, the long-time Poppy Appeal organisers in Haddenham.
The cheques were presented by the oldest and youngest member of the cast – Tom Chisholm is in his 90s, and Amelia Heafield, a pupil at the school and the youngest member of the players, is aged 5.
Also present were representatives of the Haddenham Museum Trust, which supported production of the play.
