Wearside’s war heros tracked down by students

24th November 2014

In the summer of 2014 youngsters from Springwell Dene Academy again took part in their annual trip to the First World War Somme battlefields in France.  Over the last five years, the trip has enabled pupils to make further links to the community as a result of students locating the graves and memorials of those who died in the conflict. This year, following an article in the Echo, five members of the community contacted the school asking them to try to locate and photograph the graves of family members killed in France. At a special presentation evening, the students spoke about their journey to France and also gave the relatives of each fallen soldier a framed memorial.

Alison Allison, 54, of Houghton, whose great uncle Lewis Peck died at the Somme aged just 20 in 1916, said: “It’s been a fantastic evening and we want to say a big thank you to the students and staff for what they have done. “Our family are all very grateful to them for tracking down our relation.”

Last year’s trip was made possible by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the school has also secured funding for next year’s project.

Read more about this in the Sunderland Echo

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