The Last Post letter writing project came to a poignant end in Bexhill last Monday as students delivered their letters written to unknown soldiers in WWI to the Bexhill war memorial. The project consisted of 4 workshops overseen by local artist DJ Skitz, assisted by acclaimed spoken word artist Holly McNish and rapper Inja, who delivered spoken word, creative writing and performance sessions. There was also a special session by famous lyricist Harry Shotta.
The conclusion of the project was a letter written to an unknown soldier in WW1. On Monday 8th December, to tie in with National Letter writing day, the letters were delivered to the War Memorial on Bexhill seafront. Students Cai Dupree, Marcus Murphy, Kieran Reardon and Lorenzo Court read their poignant letters out to a gathering crowd of young people and locals. It was a moving end to a wonderful project in which everyone learnt a great deal.
The chance to bring respected artists such as Dj Skitz, Inja, Hollie McNish and Harry Shotta to Dv8 Bexhill was really exciting. Not only did students get to receive advice on their future music careers from real life artists, they also found themselves exploring a poignant topic in the centenary of the start of WWI. Subjects such as History or English may have represented a barrier or distraction from their musical interests at school but here each student was engaged and excited to learn more. Each student worked independently on creating a letter to an unknown soldier, putting their own experiences and understanding of war into moving words which they left as a tribute at the memorial on Bexhill seafront. Talking to each student it was clear they had gained a lot musically and personally from the project, and in particular they had gained an understanding of what these young men in WWI had lost their lives for and the sacrifices made to defend Britain.
“I enjoyed the project, I didn’t know much about World War I before we started but now I know what the soldiers were fighting for and got to write a letter to them” Sonny Coggins, Level 1 Music Student.
“Getting to meet Harry Shotta was amazing. We had discussions about the music industry, he also gave me a few tips on the topic and I even had a freestyle session with him! Very productive!” Marcus Murphy, Level 3 Music Student
