LEOMINSTER Brownies have been helping to preserve the memory of the town's fallen soldiers of the First World War.

The youngsters have been busy collecting acorns from one of Leominster's finest historic trees – a Verdun oak located in the Grange.

It is part of a project being run nationally by the Woodland Trust to trace the oak trees planted 100 years ago from acorns sent by the Mayor of Verdun in France.

They were sold all over the UK to raise funds for the wounded soldiers.

Leominster's Verdun is near to the memorial on the Grange, which has a plaque stating it was planted in 1921 by Alderman Gosling. The Brownies spent a busy evening last week collecting as many acorns as possible for the next phase of the project.

These were proudly presented to the Mayor of Leominster, Councillor Angela Pendleton.

Sharon Thomas, First World War partnerships manager at the Woodland Trust, said: "We are thrilled that the Brownies have collected the acorns from the beautiful Verdun oak in Leominster. "Not only have they kept their Brownie promise by serving their community, they, together with the team at the Tourist Information Office and Leominster in Bloom, have been instrumental in helping the Woodland Trust continue the legacy of First World War memorial trees.

"We are very grateful and look forward to receiving the acorns so they can be grown on, ready for planting in our Centenary Wood in Surrey in 2018.”

The acorns have now been sent to the Woodland Trust in order to plant four new memorials of Verdun Oaks in 2018 on Armistice Day for the next generations to remember the human sacrifice. They will be nurtured by inmates at one of Her Majesty's Prisons until ready for planting at the designated sites.