November 3, 2015 4.08 pm This story is over 99 months old

Lincoln schoolchildren lead poppy ceremony ahead of Remembrance Sunday

Remembering the fallen: A poppy placing ceremony has taken place at the International Bomber Command Centre.

A poppy placing ceremony to remember those who died in the First and Second World War has taken place at the International Bomber Command Centre.

Pupils from Heighington Millfield Primary Academy were invited to the spire on Canwick Hill to place poppies on the memorial ahead of Remembrance Sunday on November 8.

The event on November 3 was organised for the friends, relatives and descendants who were unable to make the journey to Lincoln due to distance or age.

One of the pupils, 10-year-old Tom, said: “I’m placing poppies next to people’s names who have died in wars to remember them.

“I feel sad for the people who died because there’s a lot of names here but I also feel very honoured as we’re the only people doing this.”

Emily, also 10, added: “We’re putting the poppies as a sign to remember those who didn’t return. I think it’s really important to do this sort of thing – it’s not every day you get to do something like this.”

Nicky Barr, Director of the International Bomber Command Centre, said: “We’ve got people from all across the world connected with this project that couldn’t travel to mark an individual occasion and so we were able to do that for them at this ceremony.

“By getting these kids engaged in something practical where they’re identifying individuals rather than a big number, it catches their imagination and we hope we’ll be able to build on that in the long-term.

“The hope is that they’ll use this as a stepping stone for skills such as creative writing, poetry and family history.

“It’s hugely important to remember what happened in both wars. It’s only by looking at what these people went through that we can learn for the future and the idea of all of this is to stop it happening again.”