Kentish Express Ashford & District
Communities remember Somme horror
Veterans, schoolchildren, worshippers and residents joined forces to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme last week.
The First World War battle resulted in British and empire soldiers being killed in their thousands as they advanced against German lines in France.
Great Chart marked the occasion with services to remember seven men from the village who fell during the conflict, including one who was among the 19,000 British and empire soldiers who died on the first day of the battle.
Great Chart Remembers founder Ian Wolverson said Year 6 pupils from Great Chart Primary, Godinton Primary, Ashford Preparatory and John Wesley Primary took part in the morning service at St Mary’s Church last Friday.
He said: “They brought their own wreaths and recited their own poems, so there was a lot of participation from all four schools. I was very impressed at their involvement and their knowledge.”
Mr Wolverson said Great Chart Remembers was set up after he found out about the 9,000 letters received by village resident Elizabeth Quinton Strouts during the First World War.
The unique collection has helped preserve the experience of hundreds of men fighting on the Western Front and in other theatres of war such as Palestine and Mesopotamia.
Mr Wolverson added: “Among the letters are some of the last that the men wrote, which is particularly poignant reading.
“Some of them were read out as part of our commemorations. These stories help us understand that the men who died are more than just names on the memorial.”
In Ashford the Royal British Legion marked the occasion with a ceremony at the First World War tank in St George’s Square.
Ashford branch chairman Popiraj Rai said: “Almost everyone in the UK today can trace an ancestor back to someone who took part in the First World War.
“Their sacrifice must never be forgotten and is made more important because so many of their bodies were never recovered or identified.
“Too many paid the ultimate price in death. In the words of the epitaph, they gave their tomorrow for our today.”