Leeds has been marching towards the month-long armed forces celebration

The annual Armed Forces Day becomes the Armed Forces Festival for 2024.

Armed Forces Day becomes the Armed Forces Festival for 2024, with a month-long extravaganza of themed activities culminating in the city center’s Armed Forces Day event on Sunday 30 June.

The Armed Forces Festival, hosted by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, is a chance for everyone to show their support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community, from currently serving troops and service families to reservists, veterans and cadets. . Everyone in Leeds is invited to take part and there is something for everyone.

Festival highlights include talks and exhibitions hosted by Leeds museums and galleries; a special D-Day anniversary music and comedy show at City Varieties; an armed forces careers event at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Trust; and a special tour of the Thackray Medical Museum, which served as a World War I military hospital.

Leeds Library Service will also be holding a series of events to mark the festival, including exhibitions and lectures by local experts at various sites in Leeds, family history workshops and an online gallery curated about the armed forces on the photography platform Leodis.

Over the weekend of 8 and 9 June, the Royal Armories will be hosting a free D-Day 80 weekend, packed with target shooting demonstrations, moving performance pieces taken from first-hand accounts of those on the Normandy beaches and technical talks around the city. weapons development during World War II.

The festival will culminate in the main event on Armed Forces Day on Sunday 30 June, full of family activities, parades, stalls, exhibitions and music. In a change from previous years, the flag-raising event which usually takes place on the Saturday before Armed Forces Day will now take place on the day itself, adding pomp and ceremony.

Mr. Mayor-elect, Councilor Abigail Marshall Katungsaid: “Leeds has a long history of supporting and celebrating our armed forces and this is a tradition I want to continue during my year as Lord Mayor.

“This year is special because we are marking the 80th^th anniversary of D-Day, so it’s only fitting that we expand what is traditionally a one-day event into a month-long festival that offers something for everyone.

“There are some interesting events. I look forward to learning more about our rich armed forces history in the town, including the incredible Barnbow Lasses, who are to be recognized with an inscription in the Civic Hall.

“The Armed Forces Festival will be an incredible way to not only thank the men and women of the armed forces community for the work they do around the globe, but also a fun and engaging day out for the whole family.

“I would like to extend an invitation to everyone in Leeds and I look forward to seeing as many people as possible at the various events.”

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Notes to editors:

Up-to-date details of all Armed Forces Festival events can be found at: https://www.millsqleeds.com/leeds-armed-forces-day/

Confirmed festival highlights include:

• Throughout June, leodis.net will be hosting an Armed Forces Day online gallery of images related to the armed forces in Leeds. Expect buildings, parades and events from Leeds’ past. Learn more at: www.leodis.net
• Throughout June, Leeds Central Library will be hosting an Armed Forces Exhibition featuring a range of unique and rare treasures relating to the armed forces. No advance booking is required.
• 1 June – 6 July Crossgates Library will host the Barnbow exhibition detailing how the munitions factory was set up during the First World War by the Leeds Munitions Committee to meet the need for shells vital to the war effort. The workforce of 16,000, mostly women, covered three shifts over a 24-hour period, six days a week. The celebrations were unheard of, and the TNT poison that turned the workers’ skin yellow earned the women the nickname “Barnbow Canaries.” This exhibition looks at the history of Barnbow, including details of the explosion which killed 35 women and was the biggest loss of life in Leeds. No advance booking is required.
• 3 June – 29 June Armley Library and Community Hub will host the Reflections of War exhibition, focusing on Leeds’ contribution to the First World War, in this touring exhibition inspired by the collections at Leeds Central Library. No advance booking is required.
• Throughout June, Leeds City Museum will be hosting a free exhibition of items from its First and Second World War collections, with a particular focus on the home front, as part of the Leeds Story Gallery. No advance booking is required.
• Tuesday 4th June – ‘Stories of Leeds Citizens Serving in the First World War’ 1152 History and Heritage Club Talk for 55+ with Kitty Ross, Curator of Leeds & Social History at Leeds Museums & Galleries . Email: [email protected] for more details
• On Wednesday 5th June at 3pm, Kippax Library will host, ‘What did Normandy July 1944 have to do with Gascoigne’s gift of Lotherton to Leeds City Council?’ Stephanie Davies, Community Curator at Lotherton Hall, will talk about Douglas Gascoigne, Operation Blue Coat in Normandy, July 1944, and why this event was instrumental in Sir Alvary Gascoigne giving Lotherton Hall to Leeds City Council. No advance booking is required.
• Saturday 8th June – Leeds City Varieties will be hosting a special 80^th anniversary of the D-Day Spirit of the Blitz show. With music and comedy from legendary stars such as Vera Lynn, George Formby, Max Miller and Gracie Fields, the show is a nostalgic tribute to those who kept us smiling in those dark days and recaptures the optimism of war-torn Britain. Find out more at: https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/spirit-of-the-blitz-2024/
• Monday 10 June – Gold award holder of the Ministry’s Employer Recognition Scheme, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will hold two online sessions for people who want to find out more about careers in mental health and learning disability care and support their for the Armed Forces community. LYPFT offers guaranteed interviews for military leavers and runs a dedicated policy for reservists and CFAVs. Two sessions are hosted on Microsoft Teams (you only need to attend one) and no pre-booking is required:

10:00 – 12:00: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MGM3ODc5ZTAtMDE0YS00MjU2LTk4NGYtY2MyOGM5MDExMGMy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b2%2334%2334%2323234 47f5-b222-07b4 8d774ee3 % 22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e44f8ecf-e696-4903-8a5b-18642b2af1e1%22%7d

15: 00-17: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_njzmowii1otAtntiCLTNITRIZDDDY4ZMQ5ZDY5%40THRED.V2/0?CONTEXT=%7B22%2334%222%2334%7B22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 22- 07b48d774ee3%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e44f8ecf-e696-4903-8a5b-18642b2af1e1%22%7d

• 12th June, 1.30pm – 3.30pm, Leeds Central Library will be hosting a presentation session on the armed forces, local and family history. Participants will be able to explore the treasures of the Central Library’s collections, with a special focus on military and armed forces-related materials. These will include news, ephemera, photographs, memoirs, letters and more. No advance booking is required.
• 27th June, 2pm, Armley Library, Librarian Josh Flint will give a local history talk on the history of battles and warfare in the Yorkshire area and draws largely on the collections and treasures held at Leeds Central Library. Yorkshire was the battlefield for some of the bloodiest, most treacherous and vicious battles ever fought. The talk will discuss the importance of the Yorkshire battles of the 7th^th at 20^th Century and how they are represented in the Leeds Libraries collection. No advance booking is required.
• On Friday 28 June, Thackray Medical Museum will host a special tour entitled ‘The Front Line: Medical Museum or War Hospital?’ Few know that during the First World War, the site of the Thackray Museum was East Leeds War Hospital, which treated soldiers wounded in Flanders and Gallipoli. The tour will be complemented by photographs, poetry and contemporary objects. The tour is included in the standard entry fee and anyone with a valid Armed Forces ID can enjoy a 20% discount on entry, Friday 28 – Sunday 30 June. Online booking is available or you can pay on the day. Each tour can accommodate 20 participants, so arrive early. Find out more about the museum at: https://thackraymuseum.co.uk/
• Royal Armories D-Day 80th Weekend: The weekend will be packed with blank firing demonstrations, moving performance pieces taken from first-hand accounts of those on the Normandy beaches and technical discussions on the development of weapons during of the Second World War. https://royalarmouries.org/leeds/whats-on/d-day-weekend
• Friday 5th July – Kitty Ross will be presenting the Social History Club’s July talk on ‘Stories of Leeds Citizens in the Second World War’ from 10.30am – 12.00pm at Leeds City Museum. The Sociable History Club is a free monthly talk series for adults, with guest speakers and a different theme each time, held at Leeds City Museum and no pre-booking required.