School Children Visit Reading’s War Graves to Mark Centenary

READING Council’s Bereavement Team has been working with four local primary schools this week to commemorate the centenary of the ending of the Great War.

Pupils from Caversham Park Primary, Micklands Primary, St John’s Primary and Hemdean House School, visited graves maintained by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission (CWGC) at Council owned cemeteries. Visits took place at Henley Road Cemetery in Caversham, Reading Old Cemetery in east Reading and Victoria Road Cemetery in Caversham. At each site, children were helped to develop an understanding of the importance of remembrance and commemoration and why we still remember the sacrifice of others. The children were offered a poppy to place on a grave. The tour of Victoria Road Cemetery included the story of four soldiers from Caversham and explored the impact of war on the small village. The children learned about how Huntley and Palmer War biscuits were so notoriously hard to chew they were often written on and sent home to families like letters. The children were inspired to write their own touching messages home.

Cllr Jason Brock, Reading’s Lead Member for Corporate & Consumer Services, said:

“This has been a great opportunity for local school children to visit Reading’s war graves, discover the human stories behind them and help honour the memory of the war dead as a fitting way of marking the centenary of WWI. These graves and monuments across Reading’s cemeteries commemorate the ultimate sacrifice made in service of our country and it is important we keep that memory alive for future generations to come.”

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