Pub conversation reveals church flags' war history

6 hours ago

Tom MacDougall,North East and Cumbriaand

Mike Zeller,BBC Radio Cumbria

St Peter's Church in Sawrey is home to two Union Flags dating back to peace treaty signings in 1919

Rosie Danagher Two British Union Flags are hanging from the arched, wooden ceiling of a church with white walls. The flags themselves look aged - the colours a little muted. A man with a tapered haircut is looking towards them. A stained glass window shines a dim light on the scene. — St Peter's Church in Sawrey is home to two Union Flags dating back to peace treaty signings in 1919

A short film has been created, inspired by a small church's Union Flags - dating back to peace treaty signings after World War One - after a filmmaker accidentally found out about them in a pub.

Rosie Danagher said she was in the Tower Bank Arms when two locals "casually" mentioned the wartime flag in St Peter's Church, Far Sawrey, in the Lake District.

With a cast of 10 local actors, she has created the film "Union Jack" alongside friend and fellow filmmaker Angus Michie, which will be shown locally on Remembrance Day at the same pub the story was unearthed.

"I was covered in goosebumps; it was meant to be, we just had to tell this story," she said.

The flags made their way to Cumbria in the hands of Charles Cecil Dickson, a 29-year-old army chaplain who was stationed in France for the entirety of the war and was present for at least one of the smaller peace treaty signings during 1919.

The seven-minute film focuses on fictional character Jack, based on Dickson, who grapples with his religious faith after returning home from the war.

Filmmakers Rosie Danagher and Angus Michie were inspired by the flags to create a film about a WW1 soldier coming to terms with returning home

Rosie Danagher Two men are standing side by side. One of them is the man we saw in the first photo, but this time he is facing forward, looking into the distance. The bearded man wears a flat cap and shirt with braces holding up his trousers. In his hand, he holds one of the flags. Next to him stands an older man wearing a similar cap and a coat. The camera points upwards at them, so they stand isolated against a blue sky flecked with clouds. — Filmmakers Rosie Danagher and Angus Michie were inspired by the flags to create a film about a WW1 soldier coming to terms with returning home

Danagher said Dickson's French compadres had the idea to take some mementos, including a pen and an ashtray which are now on display in a museum in Paris.

Dickson chose to swipe the British flags as a souvenir, and shortly before his death in 1957, he gave them to the church.

"Loads of locals know about this but I had absolutely no idea," Danagher said.

She said the film would first premier in London, and after its special showing back in Sawrey, would be taken onwards to film festivals - with the hope of going international.

She said she was looking forward to "showcasing this incredible bit of history, and how beautiful the Lake District looks on screen".