Dunsden Owen Association

Dunsden Owen Association's partner organisation the Reading A440 Choir is performing in two concerts locally this July. They will mark a number of special 2014 anniversaries, including that of the outbreak of the First World War.

The concerts will include the first ever performances of a new drama, 'Travelling with Handel', by the choir's Artistic Director, Patricia Beall Gavigan, with Jeremy Radburn, playing Handel. The evening will also include 'The Hope of Peace' – a narrative on WW1 with readings by award-winning narrator Peter Pearson.

Tickets are available on A440 website and also on the door, but are selling fast, especially for the Binfield performance.

On the weekend of Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th July the theme of 'Poetry & Verse' will be celebrated at a special flower festival at All Saints Church, Dunsden. The church will be open from 10am to 4pm, with organ music and handbell ringing, ample parking and loos available.

On Sunday refreshments will also be available in the village hall, where our 'Mementos and Memories' day is also taking place.

From Friday 7 to Sunday 9 November we are staging in Dunsden village hall a professionally curated exhibition about Wilfred Owen, Dunsden and the First World War.

The exhibition will celebrate the men from Dunsden who gave their lives in the war, as well as telling the story of Owen's connection with Dunsden. We will also be exhibiting local family mementos from the First World War.

Would you be prepared to loan something for the exhibition? You don't need to have a connection with Dunsden, and we promise to take very good care of anything you loan (or allow us to photograph) for the exhibition.

It could be anything from a tin helmet to a gas mask or a diary or photograph. What did the war mean to your family and how do you remember it today? Why not bring it along to our mementos and memories day on Sunday 13 July from 2 to 4.30pm? We may be able to give you some new information about whatever you bring.

We are also collecting recordings of people talking about their family's experiences of WW1, and would be delighted to meet you on the day.

Tea and cake will be available in the hall.

Full details are online at our main website  www.owenindunsden.org or www.facebook.com/dunsdenowen – please 'Like' this page. We are also on Twitter @OweninDunsden – please follow us.