Stratton Primary pupil lays wreath for Cirencester soldier (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Stratton schoolboy visits the Somme for moving ceremony

2:30pm Thursday 5th July 2012 in School News By Charlotte Shepherd

STRATTON schoolboy Reece Brotherton, 8, travelled to France last weekend to lay a wreath in the Somme in memory of Private Reginald Giles, a Cirencester soldier who died at the age of 19 in 1916.

Although the Stratton Primary school pupil is no relation to Private Giles, Reece was accompanied by his grandparents Sue and Geoffrey Roffe make an annual pilgrimmage to the Lochnagar Crater, the largest crater blown during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

In a poignant ceremony the wreath was laid at 7.30am, at the exact time that the Lochnagar crater was blown.

Reece was chosen because the Friends of Lochnagar want to involve more young people in the day of remembrance.

Mrs Roffe said: “Reece was thrilled to bits and really proud to do it. It was a very emotional event because the ceremony was at the exact time that the crater blew up. It is a very moving and informal service with a feeling of compassion. We remember soldiers from all nationalities who died on that day.”