Press Release

6 July 2022

Local students help restore War Memorial site

Countryside Rangers from Fareham Borough Council have been joined by students from Locks Heath Junior School to help give the ‘Lest We Forget’ memorial at the Warsash Common local nature reserve some much needed restoration.

The memorial, which was originally planted in 2018, had suffered during the pandemic and was in need of weeding and general tidying up. The restoration will also include replanting approximately 20,000 red and white poppy seeds along three parallel strips. The two red poppy strips represent the trenches of WW1. The middle trench represents no-man’s land, where the soldiers talked of peace, and is planted with white ‘peace’ poppies.

These strips will be replanted in November, so in an effort to keep this memorial active year-round, twelve pupils from Locks Heath Junior School were invited to make some synthetic poppies from recycled materials. The Year-6 students agreed to make 70 red poppies and 34 white poppies as part of their ‘Civic Award’.  

These 104 poppies, a poppy for each year since the end of the WW1, were made from the bottom of used plastic bottles and bamboo stakes. They were then pushed into the trenches and no-man’s land by the students and will stay in place until the wild seeds germinate and saved to use again once the flowers die back.  

Executive Member for Streetscene at Fareham Borough Council, Councillor Ian Bastable, said: “I would like to thank the students at Locks Heath Junior School for their efforts in making these beautiful poppies. Not only did they use recycled materials, but they will give our ‘Lest We Forget’ memorial a new lease of life and provide a fitting tribute to commemorate the British service members who gave their lives in the wars and other military conflicts since the onset of World War I.”

Mrs Debbie Clarke, Deputy-Head at Locks Heath Junior School added: “the children were delighted to take part in this project which helped them all work toward their Civic Award. This scheme rewards young people who make an outstanding contribution to the community, and in doing so, encourages others to follow in their footsteps. It was also a really fun project culminating in an interesting and educational day out.”

ENDS

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