CHILDREN from three schools joined veterans and local dignitaries at a special wreath-laying and remembrance service at a County Durham war memorial.

About 70 pupils from schools in Sedgefield gathered yesterday alongside townsfolk outside St Luke’s Chapel, on the town’s Winterton estate, to mark 100 years since the armistice.

Veteran David Hillerby opened the ceremony and Year 5 pupils from Sedgefield Primary School sang From Now On, before a selection of readings by Cllr Wayman, Deputy Lord Lieutenant Andrea Flynn, town council chair Mel Carr and head boy and girl at Sedgefield Community College, Joshua Wilson and Anna Haycock.

Cllr Wayman said: “It is so important for our children to understand and acknowledge the heroes who fought and who died in war to protect the future for generations to come.

"When we talk about war we don’t want children to be scared, we want them to remember the people who bravely battled on their behalf.”

Earlier this week Sedgefield Primary School invited Mr Hillerby, known locally for his work with the Sedgefield Veterans’ Association, to attend a special assembly in their school hall on Rectory Row where they performed remembrance poem The Inquisitive Child.

Deputy head and class teacher Samantha Smith said: “The class have embraced learning about the war and taken their role at the Remembrance service very seriously.

“It’s vital that each generation continues to understand the magnitude of this day by learning in the classroom and talking to their families.

“It is a subject I love to teach because my own grandad Fredrick Edward Jones served in the Gloucestershire Regiment throughout World War Two.

“He received a letter of commendation from Lord Montgomery for his part in El Alamein – a pivotal turning point recognised by Sir Winston Churchill.

“I instil in the children the importance of remembering just how much these servicemen did for our country.”

A Remembrance Sunday service will be held in St Edmund’s Church, Sedgefield, tomorrow at 10am conducted by the Reverend Martin King and the Reverend David Hall, followed by a wreath laying ceremony, with uniformed organisations of all ages taking part.