Sunderland school children host commemorative presentation evening
07 June 2012
Students at Springwell Dene School in Sunderland have hosted a
presentation evening for the relatives of seven local men killed on
the Somme.
For the past three years the school has organised a trip to the
battlefields and memorials of the Somme. This year - after a
campaign in the local press to find interested relatives - the
pupils placed a cross in memory of seven men from their area who
were killed in battle.
It was discovered that five of the men have no known grave, and
so are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to
the Missing. One is buried at Hermies Hill
British Cemetery, and another at Pozieres British
Cemetery
The families of the seven men were presented with photographs of
the memorials and certificates downloaded from our website.
Springwell Dene caters for children who find it difficult to
cope in the mainstream school environment.
Assistant head, Alan Douglas, said the trips meant a lot to the
students - many of whom had not been outside the UK before. They
were particularly affected by the large number of men from the
Sunderland area who had been killed - and how young they were.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, Mr. Douglas explained: "It
gives the trip greater interest for the young people, enabling the
students to play a greater positive role in society is one of our
many aims."
More photographs from the trip and presentation evening can
be found on our
Facebook page.