FORMER Royal Marines are working tirelessly to plant 19,240 remembrance crosses to mark the centenary of one of the bloodiest battles in history at the spot where many fell.

The ex-servicemen have yomped 650 miles over 23 consecutive days from northern England to the Somme in France, and from 6.30pm on Thursday, (June 30) they have been carefully placing the wooden crosses bearing the names of those who fell during the first day of the battle in the ground.

Christiaan Creaby, Michael Anderson and Mark Warrener were joined on stages of the march by North Yorkshire children and business leaders as they collected names of First World War veterans for the crosses, to create a poignant display of remembrance at the site.

Pupils from Masham Primary School will carry wreaths through towns of Pal battalions, which lost a significant number of lives on the opening day of the Somme.

The challenge, which is being sponsored by Northallerton-based retailer Lewis & Cooper and will raise funds for the Royal British Legion, follows Mr Creaby leading a fundraising trek to Masham last year to honour the Leeds Pals, a battalion that trained near the town before going to the Western Front.

Lewis & Cooper director Bettina Bell arrived at the Somme battleground to help the ex-servicemen plant the crosses, and will present a hamper to a farmer for allowing his land to be used for the memorial.

Mr Creaby said: “It is quite overwhelming to see all the crosses and to think they represent a man who died here. It has taken us 15 hours to plant about 15,000 crosses but it took the same amount of time to kill the same number of men.

“We want them to be remembered and we want to thank everyone who found names for us of WWI soldiers who died here.”

The yomp has raised around £10,000 for the Royal British Legion, and Mr Creaby said he and his team are on target to complete the planting of the crosses by the end of Friday, July 1.

To donate visit justgiving.com/thesommeyomp or thesommeyomp.com.