A MOVING poem by two primary school pupils will take pride of place at a memorial to First World War heroes from Warwickshire.
The poem Krithia, written by Year 6 Knightlow Primary School pupils Jessica Scuffle and Sophie Gambling, will be featured on a new interpretation board for the 29th Division Monument on the A45 at Stretton on Dunsmore.
Their verse was one of a number written by pupils at the school following a workshop with Ian Binnie, Gallipoli Association Education Co-ordinator, in which they learnt about the 29th Division, their time billeted to the local area, and what it must have been like fighting on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915.
Mr Binnie said: “The poems were of a really high standard and it was very difficult to choose just one of them. The poem chosen was entitled Krithia, one of the major battles of the campaign.”
All pupils who wrote poems received prizes at a special school assembly.
The interpretation board is part of a wider restoration project around the monument as part of the Dunsmore Living Landscape Scheme.
The 29th Division Monument on the A45 at Stretton on Dunsmore.The scheme’s manager Lucy Hawker said: “This has been a wonderful opportunity for the children to learn more about why the monument, the only one in the UK for the entire 29th Division, was built in this location, and to pay tribute to the soldiers’ bravery.”
The board will include information about the 29th Division and King George V’s visit to see the troops at Knightlow Hill in 1915, before they embarked for Gallipoli where they suffered heavy losses.
The project will also see resurfacing and wildflower seeding around the monument, and restoration work to the Lime Memorial Avenue on the A45.
New trees will be planted at the Lime Memorial Avenue and dedicated to soldiers from the 29th Division who were awarded Victoria Crosses.New trees will be planted and dedicated to soldiers from the 29th Division who were awarded Victoria Crosses – the most prestigious military award given for exceptional valour in the face of the enemy – later this year.
The 29th Division Monument was upgraded to grade II* status in 2015 by on the advice of Historic England, which described it as “probably the most significant single memorial in Britain associated with the Gallipoli Campaign”. It is one of just three nationwide to receive the honour.
Visit www.exploredunsmore.org/projects/pupils-poetry-for-the-29th-division to read all of the pupils’ poems.
Krithia
By Jessica Scuffle and Sophie Gambling
Krithia, a violent place,
Will we survive the dark and hate?
Too hot, too cold, can never decide,
Our boredom, all feelings are kicked to the side.
With No-Man’s Land flashing red,
Wire, wood, earth and mud all we have left.
Krithia,
Will you let us live?
