CHILDREN from Devizes are preparing for Remembrance Sunday by creating their own poppies with the help of the town's branch of the Royal British Legion.

Poppy organiser Franklin Richmond was at Southbroom St James academy last week to show pupils how they can use a special kit to make the flowers that have such a poignant message.

He said: "We work with all the schools in Devizes and on Remembrance Sunday they are part of the wreath laying at the war memorial. It is good for children to know what Remembrance is all about. We have a lot of support from all of the town primary schools and Devizes School.

"We have also started to work with some of the village schools so they can have a wreath to lay at the celebrations at their own churches."

Poppies first started to be a symbol after World War 1 which caused devastation to area of Northern France and Belgium but the poppies continued to flower. Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a doctor serving with the Canadian Armed Forces was deeply moved by what he saw. Inspired by the poppies, he wrote the poem In Flanders’ Fields.

The flowers were suggested as a symbol of remembrance in the USA in 1918 and were adopted by the American Legion in 1920. The following year Madame Guerin introduced her poppies, made by a French-American charity's widow, to the British Legion.

Mr Franklin said that in 1921 £106,000 was raised in Britain by poppy sales but last year it was £44.4 million.

Branch secretary Alan Thomson has a plan for how the town's fallen from the First World War can be remembered in the town next year to mark the 100 year anniversary of the end of the conflict.

He said: "The town of Devizes has a wonderful memorial, built in 1921 to honour the dead who gave their lives in World War I.

"There are six bronze plaques listing the names of 199 dead, killed in all theatres of war. The names commemorate fallen men from both the Army and the Royal Navy.

"Some died on the battlefield, whilst some were brought to the local military hospital, where they later died of their wounds. Some had emigrated before the war and joined the conflict in their adoptive country, before being posted back to the battlefields of Europe to fight for their home country."

He now wants to obtain family history of those whose names are on the plaques and to use the branch's month meetings in 20018 to commemorate them.

He said: "I would like to invite any family who has the name of an ancestor on a plaque on the World War I memorial in Devizes, to contact me. I would like to obtain the family history pertaining to their fallen ancestor and invite the members of that family to attend the monthly meeting so that the great sacrifice of their ancestor can be honoured.

"During these special commemorative meetings, which will take place between January and November 2018, the Branch Standard will be presented and the last post will be sounded. All the historical information pertaining to the family’s fallen ancestor will be read out and this information will be presented to the family at the conclusion of the meeting. Hopefully, photographs and video content will also be collated."

He can be contacted by email on alan@thomson180.plus.com