Representatives from Shrewsbury will be visiting the town’s foreign counterpart in remembrance of the Second World War.
A party of local dignitaries, including the Deputy Mayor of Shrewsbury, Councillor Tony Durnell, will visit Shrewsbury’s twinned town of Zutphen, in the Netherlands, on May 1.
As part of the visit, the Deputy Mayor will attend a public Remembrance ceremony on May 4 when he will lay a wreath on the Zutphen War Monument on behalf of the citizens of Shrewsbury.
The aim of the visit is to highlight the lives lost and the devastation suffered during the Second World War as much of occupied Zutphen was lost, although some buildings in the old centre partly survived and have since been restored to their former glory.
During their stay the group will visit the Airbourne Museum and the English War Cemetery in Arnhem, the Jewish transition camp Westerbork, Harfsen Village (V1 launching base), the Old Cemetery in Zutphen, the Dutch Resistance Museum and Anne Frank’s House in Amsterdam.
A party from Zutphen will visit Shrewsbury later in the year to mark the end of the First World War on November 11.
Helen Ball, Town Clerk said: “Since the Second World War Shrewsbury has had first informal and, since 1977, formal twinning links with Zutphen after sending aid to the town in 1945, following its liberation at the end of the war.
“Our towns and people have much in common and the opportunities given by the twinning, to discover similarities, and to enjoy and learn from our differences, are there for us to grasp. This year’s theme of remembrance is especially important as we pay respects to those who lost their lives and also learn a little more about what life was like for our friends in the Netherlands as an occupied country.”
Yvonne Epskamp, Coordinator of the Twinning Committee added: “Every year we have a different theme to our visits and we thought it appropriate for it to be War Remembrance this year in view of the significant date, 11 November 2011. The Dutch, having not been actively involved in the First World War, will learn a lot from the experiences of the British during that time. Equally, Zutphen and the Dutch, having suffered enormously during the Second World War, will open the eyes of our British counterparts as to what it was like to be occupied.”
For more information about Zutphen and Shrewsbury links go to: www.shrewsbury-zutphen-twinning.info
For further information contact Suzi Wilkinson, Marketing & Promotions Officer on: 01743 257654 or email suzi.wilkinson-stc@shropshire.gov.uk