A REDDITCH pupil laid a wreath at the grave of one of his relatives who died in The Great War.
Mackenzie Butler visited the resting place of Thomas Such who had lived on Silver Street in Redditch and was the brother of his great great-grandmother.
The Walkwood Middle School pupil along with 41 other students from Year 6 and 7 went to the Noeux les Mines Cemetery in France as part of school trip to learn about the impact of the war on communities in England.
They also visited the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge, while going to Belgium to explore the German trenches at Bayernwald near Ypres, the Passchendaele 1917 Memorial Museum, Tyne Cot Cemetery and the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate.
At Tyne Cot pupils found the names of those from the Worcestershire Regiment who are also on the War Memorial at the Bridge Church at Headless Cross.
The trip was the first of four First World War tours the school has planned between 2014 and 2018.
Teacher Chris Russell said both pupils and staff found the trip enjoyable and educating.
“Pupils where moved by the number of grave stones at the cemeteries that only had ‘Known only unto God’ on them and the age of the youngest, just 18 and 19.
“The tour created a lot of interest in the First World War which will be followed up when the school has a day focusing on it in the autumn term.”
