Veterans are being invited to join pupils at a Remembrance service at Newcastle-under-Lyme School.
The school holds an annual Remembrance Service and Parade on 11 November each year.
Current and past pupils have been joined in recent years by members of the town’s Normandy Veterans Association for the service.
However, earlier this year, the Newcastle-under-Lyme Branch of the Association was disbanded due to dwindling numbers.
Now the school has decided to extend an invitation to any war veterans from the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme to join them on Remembrance Day.
The Normandy Veterans laid down their standard for the last time at a special ceremony in the Memorial Hall of Newcastle-under-Lyme School.
Head Master Nick Rugg said: “The school has longstanding links with our Armed Forces through our own Cadet Corp and our relationship with the Normandy Veterans Association.
“Sadly, with the passing of time the number of Normandy Veterans has dwindled. However, our attachment to our country’s Armed Forces remains strong and we want to extend the hand of friendship to veterans from the borough.”
Invited guests will join pupils and staff for the Remembrance Service at 11am on 11 November.
Veterans who plan to attend are asked to telephone the school in advance on 01782 664620.
The service will be followed by a short presentation by pupils who paid a recent educational visit to the Krakow and Auschwitz Concentration Camps set up by Nazi Germany during World War Two.
Former pupils from Newcastle-under-Lyme School played an heroic part in one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War.
More than 500 servicemen – including 22 former Newcastle pupils – lost their lives at the Battle of Loos in October 1915.
Survivors recall soldiers from the 5th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment charging the German lines shouting “Potters forever” and kicking a football ahead of them.
ENDS
For further information contact Ian Cartwright on 01782 664620.
Note to editors:
Newcastle-under-Lyme School is an independent day school catering for pupils from three to 18 years of age. A nursery, junior school, senior school and sixth form are all part of the school family. The School is able to commit over £700,000 a year from its own resources to support the education of children from lower income backgrounds.
The School’s website can be accessed at www.nuls.org.uk.
Newcastle-under-Lyme School, Mount Pleasant, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1DB.