TWO students from Haslingden High School were selected to visit the National Memorial Arboretum and lay a wreath.
Year 11 students Morgan Harper-Jones and Jake Hobson joined hundreds of people from bikers to businessmen and women, serving armed forces personnel and veterans who attended the National Memorial Service in Airewas, Staffordshire.
It was a reward for the GCSE history students for assisting history teacher Mandy Pollard to present assemblies in school to mark Remembrance.
For both Morgan and Jake, the experience was deeply moving and they said they felt privileged to be a part of the ceremony.
Morgan, 15, from Syke, said: “It was one of those places you never forget going to, there were so many people there and it was still and really peaceful.
“Everyone who was there was there for the same reason to support the families and there were a lot of personal memories.”
Both Morgan and Jake commented on a recent addition to the arboretum – the memorial to those shot at dawn. They felt it was right that those soldiers who were killed by their own should also be remembered especially as one such soldier was just 15 when he died.
“It was not upsetting,” said Jake. “Everyone was there for the right reasons.”
The trip was especially poignant for Mrs Pollard whose great-grandfather fought in Ypres and has a tree in the grounds in his memory.
She said: “I have never been to see the tree and there are so many planted there and yet I was able to go straight to it.
“I applied for tickets so that Morgan and Jake could attend and hope in future to arrange a trip for other students.”