Danny Boyle beaches: ‘Pages of the Sea’ Armistice project sees stunning sand portraits of WW1 casualties

Sophie Williams12 November 2018

Striking sand portraits of World War One casualties have appeared on Britain's beaches in a project by filmmaker Danny Boyle.

The portraits were part of the Pages of the Sea project by Boyle who helped organise groups of people on 32 beaches to create a sand image of a soldier.

The beaches from Cornwall to the Shetland Isles all commemorated one specific person that fought in the war.

People gathered together early on Sunday morning to create the images, using a stencil and a rake to create the images.

Members of the public on Redcar beach gather to look at and draw stencilled outlines of soldiers
Getty Images

After time, the tide came in and washed them away.

At all of the beaches, the 11am two minutes silence was observed.

People gather to look at an Armistice day sand portrait of Imperial Military Nurse Rachel Ferguson
REUTERS

A portrait of Wilfred Owen was created in Folkestone, Kent.

While a portrait of Second Lieutenant Walter Tull, the first black officer in the British army and the second black professional football player was created on Roseisle beach in Scotland.

Danny Boyle poses for a photograph as members of the public gather on Sunny Sands Beach
Getty Images for 14-18 NOW

The sand images also included women who made contributions during World War One.

In Coleraine, northern Ireland, locals created a portrait of Imperial Military Nurse Rachel Ferguson who died in June 1918.

Members of the public gather on Sunny Sands Beach, Folkstone
Getty Images

Danny Boyle said: “I wanted to issue an invitation for you to join is on your own beaches to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the end of the 14-18 war.

“The idea of being on the beach is that we wanted to create a partner to the more formal ceremony that happens at the cenotaphs around the country every year.

Volunteers gather on Redcar beach to take part in a large scale sand portrait project
Getty Images

"It’s not an alternative, it’s more of a compliment to try and make it more community based.

“These are amazing democratic places, everybody is equal so we wanted to create an artwork.

The stencilled outline of a soldier is drawn in the sand
Getty Images

"When the tide goes out, the volunteers come together and make an imprint like a photograph of people who served.

“Then we’ll stand back as the tide returns and it will wash these faces away for the last time.

“Let’s fill the beaches around the UK and stand together.

"It would be a final goodbye, a final salute to people who gave their lives.”

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