England fans lay wreath at Volgograd memorial

England football fans have laid a wreath in memory of Soviet war dead in a moving ceremony in central Volgograd.

Two fans, James Lockett and Billy Grant, were among an official party which paid tribute in the city’s Hall of Military Glory, in the heart of the Mamayev Kurgan memorial park commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad. The group also included British deputy ambassador Lindsay Skoll and FA chairman Greg Clarke.

Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate pointed to the “perspective” the war-ravaged history of Volgograd – formerly known as Stalingrad – had given his team ahead of the World Cup game against Tunisia yesterday.

And more than a dozen England fans turned out to watch the ceremony, which began with a short display by the Russian soldiers who guard the site.

Volgograd is the site of one of the bloodiest battles in history, with estimates suggesting the number of troops killed, captured or wounded on both sides totalled nearly two million.

Historians believe the Soviet defence of the city, on the banks of the Volga river, was a turning point for the Allies against Hitler’s forces in the Second World War.

The city is also twinned with Coventry, after women from the Midlands city wrote to express support during the war.

Ms Skoll wrote in a book of commemoration: “May our bonds between the people of the UK and Russia remain forever strong and enduring.”

She told reporters: “As you know the links between the UK and this great city are strong and enduring.

“They were forged during the Second World War, with shared experience of destruction and devastation and immense bravery, and started by 900 women in Coventry, who sent messages of support and solidarity to their sisters in Stalingrad.”

Greg Clarke, right, and Billy Grant.