Pupils and staff from Holbeach St Marks Primary School paid their respects to the fallen from two World Wars this morning.

Heads were bowed and silence observed outside Holbeach St Marks Village Hall where youngsters and their teachers remembered the ultimate sacrifice made by men from the village between 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.

The short service was led by the Vicar of Holbeach, the Rev Rosamund Seal, who spoke to the children about the significance of the poppy emblem.

Mrs Seal talked of the "massive tragedy" which saw an estimated 250,000 British soldiers under the age of 19 who answered the call to fight.

She said: "So many of them were sent out to a war, the war that was supposed to end all wars, that went on and on and on.

"It left so many people feeling so sad which is why war is so awful and why we don't want any more because there are huge losses of life, including children."

A perspex "Tommy" figure was also present, as part of the "There But Not There" commemoration marking 100 years since the end of World War I.

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Pupils from Holbeach St Marks Primary School mark the 100th anniversary of World War I ending with a short ceremony at the village hall. (5318844)

One of the children laid a wreath, watched by members of Holbeach St Marks' Royal British Legion (RBL) branch and Sergeant Helen Savory, of 2430 (Squadron) Air Training Corps who recited the "Ode of Remembrance, an extract from Robert Laurence Binyon's famous poem, "For the Fallen".

Sally Massey, head of school at Holbeach St Marks Primary School, said: "It's so vital that we keep the memory of all the soldiers alive and if we don't have commemorations like this year after year, the children will just forget.

"It's important for them to realise where their freedoms came from."

Peter Savory, chairman of the village's RBL branch, said: "We're very pleased that the school takes the attitude it does and we fully support it in this special act of remembrance."