A TRIO of ex-serviceman from Billericay's Royal British Legion branch recounted some of their tales to a group of youngsters ahead of Sunday's Remembrance Day commemorations.
Mik Dunn, 80, who served with the 8th King Royal Irish Hussars tank regiment, John Bowater, 87, who served in the Royal Navy, and Len Hale, 90 from the RAF Regiment, enjoyed lunch and 1940s-style entertainment at Mayflower High School on Friday.
Students from Year 7, alongside members of the peer support team in Year 10, welcomed the veterans to help commemorate Armistice Day and acknowledge the invaluable work of the Royal British Legion.
Mr Dunn, secretary of the Legion branch, who missed the war, but who served on Conqueror tanks, said: "It's been good to chat to them about what we did in the forces and our experience. They are really good kids."
Among the group of students was Year 10 Matt Pidgeon, 14, from Billericay. He said: "It's been interesting to hear about the training they went through."
Ruth Trevellyan, student support manager, and Karen Bainbridge, librarian of the school in Stock Road, invited the veterans back after a similar visit last year.
Ms Bainbridge said: "At the end of the day, these guys are not going to be around forever, so it's important that younger generations hear about what they did. The lives that these youngsters lead would not be the same without what they did."
Mrs Trevellyan said: "We were delighted to invite the veterans back to the school, following a very successful event last year.
"The Royal British Legion is committed to helping young people understand the issues of Remembrance, conflict and the importance of peace, and our students were fascinated to hear the stories from the representatives of the Legion and their recollections of times past.
"It also allowed our students to appreciate the work undertaken by the Royal British Legion and to realise that its work in standing shoulder to shoulder with all who serve and have served in the past is still as relevant today as it was when it was formed over 90 years ago."
The trip coincides with the first of two visits undertaken by students in Year 9 to the Belgian battlefields of World War I.
The students visited Sanctuary Wood, The Menin Gate and the Passchendaele 1917 Museum, before laying a wreath of poppies at Tyne Cot Cemetery, which lies about five miles north-east of the Belgian town of Ypres.
Mr Richard Maples, head of humanities, said: "This is the British Memorial to the Missing and bears the names of 54,896 of those who died between 1914 and 1917, but have no known grave.
"Each student is given a wooden cross to place at a grave of their choice at Tyne Cot as a vivid reminder of those who have given their lives for the freedom we enjoy today."
