Remembrance Sunday In London: Exhibitions, Events And Other Things To Do

Laura Reynolds
By Laura Reynolds Last edited 64 months ago

Looks like this article is a bit old. Be aware that information may have changed since it was published.

Remembrance Sunday In London: Exhibitions, Events And Other Things To Do
Weeping Window at Imperial War Museum

This Sunday, 11 November 2018, marks 100 years since the Armistice brought the first world war to an end. To commemorate the anniversary, and remember those who died and were injured in the war, several events are going on around London, to allow people to reflect, pay their respects, and say thank you.

Beyond The Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers at Tower of London

Image: Historic Royal Palaces

Every night this week, 10,000 flames illuminate the Tower of London's moat for performance artwork Beyond The Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers. It begins each night with a single flame, and a team of Yeoman Warders and volunteers continue lighting the torches to create a pool of light spreading outwards, all to a soundtrack. It was put together by designer Tom Piper and sound artist Mira Calix. Here are some photos of the first night, and the video below gives you more of an idea of what to expect:

Tickets to watch from within the moat have sold out, but it's free and unticketed to watch from the pavements surrounding the moat.

Beyond The Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers at Tower of London. 5pm-9pm, every evening until 11 November.

Remembrance Art Trail, Canary Wharf

Artworks in Adams Plaza. Photo: Londonist

The British Legion and artist Mark Humphrey have teamed up to place 11 artworks around Canary Wharf, all on theme of Remembrance. In shopping centres, skyscrapers and public squares, look out for the sculptures and artworks. You can download a map here, although some of the points are easier to find than others. If you're short on time, we recommend seeing Lost Armies in Jubilee Park, Lost Soldiers in Montgomery Square, Brothers In Arms in the Crossrail Place Roof Garden, and ANA (Army, Navy, Air Force) in Adams Plaza — vehicle pieces from each of the armed forces have been reimagined as giant poppies.

Remembrance art trail, Canary Wharf. Free, just turn up, until 11 November 2018. The artworks are in place 24 hours a day, but are best viewed 10am-6pm when staff are on hand to answer questions.

Weeping Window at Imperial War Museum

Weeping Window at Imperial War Museum

(Some of) the Tower of London poppies from 2014 are back in London for a short time, and can be seen for free. Weeping Window was one of the sculptures installed by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper, and has been placed on the Imperial War Museum to mark the centenary of the Armistice:

Weeping Window at Imperial War Museum, Lambeth. Free, until 18 November 2018.

Remembrance Sunday 2018 at the Cenotaph and Whitehall

Photo: British Legion

The National Service of Remembrance takes place at the Cenotaph on Whitehall. The public can attend, but you'll have to get there early. It gets very busy, and security is tight. Details, timings and other information can be found on the British Legion website. If you can't make it down, it's be screened on BBC One from 10am.

Shrouds of the Somme

Photo: Shrouds of the Somme

This affecting artwork aims to help people understand just how many lives were sacrificed in the first world war. In the Battle of the Somme over 72,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers died, and there bodies were never recovered. Artist Rob Heard created 72,936 figures — or shrouds — one for each of these lost lives, laid out on the grass. Held in the Olympic Park — near the Orbit — it's previously been displayed in Exeter, where it won many plaudits.

Shrouds of the Somme, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, free. 8-18 November, 10am-7pm.

Remembrance weekend events at National Army Museum, Chelsea

Get an insight into life in the trenches

Unsurprisingly, the National Army Museum has several events going on this weekend, including one of the more unusual uses of virtual reality we've come across — a recreation of life in a first world war trench. It's part of a wartime drama, giving an insight into the muddy trenches, terrible conditions, and hopes and fears of the soldiers.

Armistice Day concert at Cadogan Hall, Chelsea

Royal Choral Society and the London Philharmonic Orchestra join forces for this concert of music and poetry on the theme of remembrance. The programme includes Elgar's The Spirit of The Lord, and poetry reading by actor Paul McGann. The performance is in aid of Combat Stress, a charity which helps former service people deal with trauma-related mental health issues.

Armistice Day concert at Cadogan Hall, £15-£35, book ahead, 11 November, 6pm

Remembrance Day events at National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery hosts a family day of reflection and remembrance. To introduce children to the concept, they can make their own poppy, hear stories of nursing throughout the first world war, and meet an actor playing 'Tommy of the Somme', who will tell them what life on the front was like. Free, just turn up, 11am-4pm.

For adults, there's a reflective performance of war poetry, prose and song, including the works of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Isaac Rosenberg.

Marylebone Remembered

Street party on Penfold Street (formerly Carlisle Street) celebrating the end of the War.

A free outdoor exhibition has opened in Portman Square Garden, showing photographs of Marylebone in wartime, including conscription, convalescence, new opportunities for women, new treatments and hospitals, refugees and the cost of war and Estate war damage

Marylebone Remembered, free, just turn up, 10am-4pm, until 11 November

Tiny houses in Burgess Park

Photo: London Borough of Southwark

This one specifically commemorates people who lost their lives in a zeppelin bombing during the first world war, in a road located where Burgess Park now is.

Many local people were killed when Calmington Road was bombed. Artist Sally Hogarth worked with Southwark Council to design ten tiny houses, dotted around the park between Albany Road and the lake. The varying height of each house reflects the age and gender of each victim and every house features a quote relating to the event, and the closer each house is to the original zeppelin bomb site, the darker in colour it is.

Silent Raid, Burgess Park. Free to view, permanent installation.


You can also keep an eye out for the poppy roundels which have been installed at 10 tube stations across the network. Many venues will likely hold a two-minute silence at 11am on Sunday too, marking the time when the guns fell silent.

Last Updated 08 November 2018