A HERITAGE Lottery Fund will enable Swindon to host a showcase to mark the centenary of the First World War.

The £10,000 fund will include the launch of the Great War Initiative on Saturday – exactly 100 years since Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, starting the First World War.

In the town centre, a host of activities to commemmorate the war are being launched today.

Swindon has a large number of rich historical connections to the war.

For the centenary, local historians, organisations, schools, companies and individuals have come together to ensure the significant history and stories of Swindon in the conflict are commemorated appropriately.

From Monday, August 4 until August 9, inSwindon together with Swindon Council and local organisations will put on a week’s worth of events to commemorate the war.

The week will include public films on the Big Screen at Wharf Green, historical re-enactments, archive photographs and film footage, displays and also a family fun day.

Rebecca Rowland, the BID manager for inSwindon, said: “This is fantastic news for Swindon.

“The HLF grant will help us to commemmorate an historical event that should never be forgotten, but will also allow us to celebrate how far we have come.”