Pictures taken by the Centenary News team recall some of the many events in 2014 which marked the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War.
On June 28th, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performed a concert in Sarajevo on the centenary of Archuke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination.
It took place at the renovated City Hall (above) where the Archduke and his wife, Sophie, attended a reception in 1914 shortly before they were shot. A replica of the imperial car was parked in the street where Gavrilo Princip opened fire.
On August 4th, the Belgian Government invited world leaders to Liège for a service remembering the 100th anniversary of the German invasion.
The Presidents of France and Germany, François Hollande and Joachim Gauck, joined King Phillipe for the ceremony at Cointe Allied Memorial, together with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge from the UK.
In Britain, the Centenary of going to war on August 4th was marked with the opening of the Step Short memorial arch in Folkestone by Prince Harry (below).
On the evening of August 4th, millions of people across the UK darkened their houses as part of the ‘Lights Out’ remembering the declaration of war in 1914.
In London, the floodlighting was turned off at the Houses of Parliament, leaving only the clockface of Big Big Ben lit up at 11pm, the hour the ultimatum to Germany expired.
Britain, France and Germany were all represented at events held by the Belgian town of Mons in August, marking the Centenary of the Battle of Mons.
The weekend of commemorations began on August 22nd with a ceremony at the scene of the opening skirmish between British and German troops in 1914.
On August 23rd, services were held at key sites in the Battle of Mons, including Nimy railway bridge, where Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Private Sidney Godley won the first Victoria Crosses of the Great War.
A plaque beside the Mons-Condé canal recalls their defence of the bridge in 1914.
An international service of remembrance was held at St Symphorien military ceremony (below), where almost equal numbers of British and German war dead are buried.
Laid to rest here are also the first and the last British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in action during the Great War.
In the UK, the first Remembrance Sunday of the Great War Centenary fell on November 9th 2014. A day of traditional commemorations culminated with cascading poppies illuminating Big Ben.
Remembrance of the Christmas truce of 1914 dominated December. Centenary News attended the inauguration of European football’s new memorial at Ploegsteert, Belgium, by UEFA President, Michel Platini (below).
Pictures © Centenary News by Nigel Dacre, Editor CN (Sarajevo & Liège); Peter Alhadeff, Deputy Editor CN
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News