Young war poets back Help for Heroes

picviewbig.aspA book of poems written by pupils of Neyland Community School on the subject of war has been presented to local soldiers.

‘Whilst We Remember…And Before We Forget!’ was produced by pupils in Years five and year six as part of their work in literacy.

The 28 children wrote the poems after reading the work of World War I poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, and the true story of a young Yugoslavian war refugee.

Their class teacher, Mary Evans, said they were very powerful images.

“The children devised their own poems to complement and support Remembrance Day celebrations,” said Mrs Evans.

“They created their own images of war poetry and how people might be feeling, what they might be seeing, touching and hearing.”

Councillor Huw George, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, Learning and the Welsh Language, was so impressed when he saw a display of the poems in the school that he decided to put them together in a booklet.

“It is evident from what the pupils have written that they not only understood the works of Sassoon and Owen but they are also able to eloquently convey their own thoughts and feelings about war.

“Their poems are extremely powerful and make the reader think,” he said.

The booklets, which were produced as part of the school’s Community Focus work, were presented by the pupils to soldiers from the Armed Careers Information Office in Haverfordwest and the 14th Signals Regiment at Brawdy.

They are now on sale to parents of children at the school, with all proceeds going to the Help for Heroes fund.

Teachers and staff at the school will also be making a donation to the Help for Heroes Fund, in lieu of sending each other Christmas cards this year.

Photograph: Pupils Alisha Hobbs, Liam Evans, Jack Mathews, and Jordan Lawson, with (left to right): Councillor Huw George; Mary Evans; Corporal Andy Dale, Help for Heroes County Coordinator; Lieutenant Colonel Doug Joyce, president of the Milford Haven branch of the Royal British Legion, and Staff Sergeant Tina Whale.
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