Danny Boyle brings '˜Pages of the Sea' to Blackpool's golden sands

The Slumdog Millionaire director is asking people to gather on beaches across the UK on November 11 to etch the faces of the millions of people whose lives were lost or changed forever by the First World War.

Pages Of The Sea is described as an “informal, nationwide gesture of remembrance for the men and women who left their home shores during the First World War. A large-scale portrait of a casualty from the First World War, designed by sand artists, will also be drawn in the sand in many of the locations and washed away as the tide comes in.

The work is the culmination of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme to mark the centenary of Armistice Day.

Meanwhile, a costumed parade – dubbed The Final Homecoming – will be held in Fleetwood to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War.

Around 1,000 people are expected to either take part or watch the last of a string of commemorative events.

It will be held from 11am on Monday, November 12, and will echo a similar spectacle staged in the port town in 2014 to mark the start of the Great War.

Schoolchildren, veterans, and serving military personnel are expected to take part, with many in costumes from that era, as are re-enactment groups, musicians, community groups, and residents.

The council said: “At Fleetwood Market, a 1918 living room is being installed which will host ‘ghost’ characters, interpreting people on the home front.”

An exhibition of people’s memories will also go on show at the Marine Hall.

The parade will get start at the Memorial Park, go through the town centre, turn into Bold Street, up and around the Mount, and finish in Marine Gardens with food, and music performances and re-enactments.