PRIMARY school children placed poppies on a restored war memorial which commemorates the lives of 70 men from Holmer who died in the First World War.

A re-dedication service was held at the memorial on Widemarsh Common last week and was attended by members of Hereford City Council, members of the Royal British Legion, the Salvation Army, children from Holmer Primary School and members of the public.

The year-five pupils from Holmer School each laid a poppy on the memorial in memory of the 70 men from the parish who died during the Great War.

Some of those in attendance at the ceremony were relatives of those named on the monument.

David Williams, who led the campaign for the restoration of the memorial, said: "It went really, really well. The children from Holmer School did really well. It's important that they can be part of this for history. They don't get taught this at school and it's important to remember those who fought in the 1914-1918 war and all wars since who have given their lives.

"It's only a small parish but there are 70 names of people who went out to war and never came back.

"Every year for 18 years I have been here and every year I think only two occasions can I ever remember seeing a poppy here.

"I am ex-RAF and was really ashamed of the condition of the memorial before it was restored. When you see the Great War on TV now you see the conditions they had to deal with. Some men were stepping into mud and drowning straight away. It's important to remember and learn lessons."

The Reverend Steven Lee from Holmer Church led the service and a two-minute silence was held after the Last Post was played.

The restoration work, carried out by Simon Hudson and his wife Beth, of Hudson Stonework, took place over several weeks and included making the names more prominent by inlaying them with black paint.