THE lives of those who lost their lives in both world wars were remembered by Hardenhuish pupils as they took an oversea trip to Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Forty pupils and four staff visited the European battleground to complete Project War Horse, a three-year Erasmus funded venture with Sintermeerten College, Heerlen, which allowed pupil to share their knowledge of the impact of war, both on their locaility and on their nation.

The group visited many battlefields, graves and cemeteries and tracked down many of the Chippenham men named on 16 piers of the Thiepval Memorial.

Alice, a pupil in Year 9 said: “I am the first member of my family to visit my great, great uncle Dennis’ grave at Bruunsum cemetery.

"He was buried there during the Second World War after he was killed trying to clear the area of remaining German soldiers.

"It felt important to still remember him 80 years after he died because he was very well loved by his whole family and, even though I didn’t know him, his sister passed away only last year and was my great grandma, who I was very close to. She would have been very proud of me.”

The school became one of the first British schools to lay a wreath at Langemarck German cemetery, and heard the story of the student army killed at the hands of the British Expeditionary Force in what became known as the ‘massacre of the innocents’

Assistant headteacher, David Clarke, said: “Project Warhorse has been a stunning success. More than 400 pupils have been involved over the past three years.

"All those who have taken part agree wholeheartedly that, through joint exploration of different aspects of the war, combined with the all-important site visits, not only is there a far deeper understanding of the conflict, but also an appreciation of what Europeans have in common, as well as a better understanding of British and Dutch culture respectively."