As part of  wider restoration works planned at Monument roundabout, a new interpretation board is being installed that tells the story of why there is a memorial to the 29th Division and an avenue of lime trees along the A45.

Working with Ian Binnie, Education Officer and Trustee of the Gallipoli Association, Year 6 pupils from Knightlow C. of E. Primary School composed poems about what it must have been like for soldiers fighting in Gallipoli in 1915. One of these poems was chosen to be included on the new interpretation board. The pupils also researched the Victoria Crosses that were awarded. Their work will be published in a small booklet and three new lime trees due to be planted within the avenue in 2020 will be dedicated to them.

The poems were all of a very high standard and choosing the one to go on the board was a difficult job. The poem chosen was written by Jessica Scuffle and Sophie Gambling, titled Krithia. All the poem entries can be read below.

#NLHF

 

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?

 

Hope Is Behind Us

By Elliana-Grace Sidhu, Astrid Bastable and Oliver Powell

On the snow covered floor I lie, next to my friend,

We feel that this day will never end

He looks at me saying, “I don’t want to die.”

I pat him on the back – a tear falls from his eye.

I swore to my family I would be okay

How could I know it would be this way?

Bullets shoot at me, I know I must fight,

Why Lord?

Oh why, is there such hate and spite?

Hope is behind me.

 

I’m Dying

By Nicole D.

The heat is killing us and the soldiers have dysentery,

It’s time to fight,

Without hope,

We’re afraid

Here on Chocolate Hill our army is getting weaker,

A shortage of water

Sniper’s shells,

How can we survive?

We need to surrender

I take my last breath

I hear cries.

 

What Is Happening?

By Haimi Shah and Ewan Bush

It’s happening, it’s really happening,

Am I dreaming?

Screaming

Screeching fills my ears

Is it all over?

Turkish bullets firing around,

Are there more to come?

Shells dropping, men dying,

Will I be next?

Tears well up in my eyes,

I am stepping into hell.

 

Remember Our War

By Grace Jordan

 Bullets shooting constantly,

The dread of the next day.

Our enemy’s approaching,

Praying they won’t stay.

The trenches, so dark and damp.

How long will we be lost?

Feeling weak but working hard.

Remembering,

This is my past.

Remember,

This is our past.

 

The General Said

By Isabelle Knight and A. M.

I woke up this morning,

Lying in my own dread,

Dreaming

Dreaming

That I would soon be dead.

The general said,

“Get ready for the attack!”

It sent a cold shiver

Right down my back.

Bullets are shot

Like there is no tomorrow.

Masses of mud,

Buckets of sorrow.

But the time has come, I must meet with my death

      The time has come, to take my last breath.

 

The Treachery Trenches

By B. S. and Rajan Sandhu

Tomorrow we are going to strike

To defeat the treacherous Turkish Army

We have to leave our trenches

But fear grows within.

The weather is hot and unbearable

Up here on Chocolate Hill

I fight back the tears in my eyes

I have to find the will,

The will to fight.

 

When Will This War End?

By Ruby Jones

Suffering soldiers surround me,

There is nothing left to do but attack!

What will be my destiny?

Will I ever make it back?

Why can’t we just be kind to each other?

Why can’t we just be friends?

I pray for reconciliation

When this war ends.

 

My Miracle

By Delilah Theeton and Charlie Jordan

It’s unbelievable

I’m on the front line

All I can hear is,

“Duck! Duck! Fire! Fire!”

Everything is ablaze.

I zoom in on a sniper,

I feel a shock shiver, a leak of blood down my spine

I duck!

Am I dead?

I had thought that it was all over.

“It was a miracle!” is what they said.

 

Stuck In the Trenches

By E. A. and Emmett Chambers

We were stuck,

Stuck in the trenches

All hope lost.

Constant bullet fire

Like a swarm of death

All hope Lost

Men falling everywhere

Dropping from grace to graves

All hope Lost

Rain comes crashing down

Along with victory

All hope lost.

 

 Home

By Zachary Simms and Isabel Hoyle

Engulfed in war, a never ending maze

These are our continuous, endless days

My head is filled with sinister thoughts

Praying that we will never be caught

My heart beats with every gunshot

Weather changing cold, then hot

Will I simply be forgot?

How I long for home.

 

Today We Fight

By Jake Irish and Chloe Mills

 Today we are to fight

And leave our families behind

We cannot turn our backs now

We trudge to Chocolate Hill

Travelling across to the trenches

Where war is about to strike out

Heat, rain, wind, mud

Seep through our uniforms as we go

We are the ones who must fight

Today.

 

War Story

By J. D. and Archie Delves-Payne

All around me earth and wood,

Covering the ground, grass and mud.

Bombs fired close, bombs fired there

Destruction and chaos hang in the air.

The bitterness of war brushes my face,

Love, hope and joy have all been displaced.

The barbed wire slashes and cuts my skin,

Soldier’s bodies are weak, dehydrated and thin.

Murmurs and cries of home…oh home…

Where is the glory in this war story?

 

Why

By Amalie Burnham

In the day we go and we try

Everyone scared

For our families we cry.

WHY?

Tomorrow

Oh tomorrow

A day to dread

Filled with fear

When will we be dead?

WHY?

 

The Struggle of War

By Mason Thomas

Smoke fills the air

The taste of acrid soot in my mouth

Bullets fly in No-Man’s Land

People die in No-Man’s Land

Endless piles of bodies

Of plagued innocent men

Hope lies dead with the fallen.

This is the struggle of war.

 

 War Day

By Hannah Barnes

Unbelievably it is the start of the day

Gun fire has already begun

It’s time for us to get prepared

To Attack!

The weather is sunny, but cold

We are suffering from dysentery

We are bored…

Yet filled with love.

There is no going back,

We have come this far.

 

War

By Harriet Fisher and Khaliel Young

Crossing the line

Feeling terror flood my brain

No turning back

Not now

They need to take cover

We are coming to fight back.

Screaming, shouting,

“We’re ready to attack!”

Piles of fallen men lay dead upon each other

In No-Man’s Land

The dread rivets me to the ground

My last breath, my last smell, my last chance

To see the world

 

 Sunrise

By Joshua Powel

The sun rises once again

The time has come

I must go to war – my sack all packed

One million thoughts running through my head

Filled with horror and dread

I must try to survive

Already longing for home

The thoughts of my family drive me on.

 

War Beginnings

By Samar Singh

People firing

People dying

Second by Second

People running

Hiding in the trenches

Days go by

Still fighting

 

Life

By Jamie Johnson

I saw a man fall

Another

How long? What next?

Would it be me?

Intense battle

Endless rain

Thinking of home

Another innocent soldier wounded

I long for my home

Home is where I need to be.