BOYS from a Bury school were among thousands involved in commemorations of the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme last weekend.

The party, from Bury Grammar School, visited France to honour 20 former pupils who were killed during the battle.

This was a significant loss for the school, which in 1914 had just 165 pupils. A total of 97 old boys' were killed in the First World War.

The first day of the Battle of the Somme, July 1 1916, has gone down in history as the British Army's bloodiest day.

The army suffered more than 57,000 casualties on that day alone. More than one million casualties were sustained during the battle.

A group of 14 Bury Grammar School boys, together with two members of staff, participated in the tour to the Somme.

The school has run an annual battlefields tour since 1994, with some boys travelling on five or six occasions during their time at the school. This special trip was arranged for battlefields tour veterans' by head of history at the Tenterden Street school, Mr Mark Hone.

He said: "It has a real impact on them and it's even more important if there is a personal connection.

"If there is a personal link, it really makes it matter to them. If they have seen a photograph of the person perhaps they know the story behind that person - it makes that personal link and helps bring it alive and is the reason why the boys want to come."

During the tour, the boys recreated the charge of the Manchester Pals' at Montauban, one of the few successful parts of the first day of the battle.

They also laid wreaths at La Boisselle Church, near Thiepval, the location of a major war memorial to British and South African men who died in the battle and have no known grave. Eleven BGS old boys' are commemorated on the Thiepval memorial.

Pupil Shantanu Kafle (16), said: "The fact that they were our ages, and were going through horrors you can't imagine, is particularly moving."

On Saturday, cadets from the school's Combined Cadet Force acted as part of the honour guard for the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, at the official commemorations in Thiepval, and assisted with the seating of dignitaries attending the service.

In the ceremony prior to the arrival of the royal couple, three of the cadets read wartime poetry.

Boys also acted as assistants for Britain's oldest war veteran, 110-year-old Henry Allingham, who served in the Royal Naval Air Service and the RAF.

One pupil, Harry Shuell (14), was exploring a personal connection. His great-great uncle, Private Thomas Seville of 7th King's Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment, was killed on July 4 leading a bombing party in the ruins of La Boisselle.

He said: "You can't imagine what people went through back then. Those who do remember don't like to talk about it. It's important to remember because we need to stop it happening again."