Manor House School lays 300 wooden crosses in honour of Remembrance Day

Pupils at Manor House School in Bookham laid individual wooden crosses on the edge of the front lawn facing the Manor House in a moving tribute to family members who had served or died in the First World War.

On Friday 9 November, Manor House pupils celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the First World War with a special Remembrance assembly. Students had spent recent weeks researching their ancestry to identify family members who had served or died in the war. 

To the chorus of the Military Wives Choir, pupils arrived to assembly carrying the small wooden crosses that they had been given with the name of their chosen relative, written onto the wood.

Headteacher, Ms Tracey Fantham, led the assembly which featured girls from different year groups recounting their personal stories of their ancestors who had served during war-time. 

Although Manor House School was not located in Bookham during the First World War, it was located on the current site during the Second World War and School archives show that it was then a boarding school. 

A number of girls boarded during war-time when the bedrooms were moved downstairs for safety reasons and the School had nominated volunteers who were responsible for ensuring that all eight-four windows were blacked-out at dusk!

At the end of the assembly, pupils were invited to place their individual crosses on the edge of the lawn, facing the school to form a poignant line of remembrance crosses. To the sound of the emotive 'Last Post', the School then observed a minute of silence.