A SCHOOL community gathered in the pouring rain yesterday to remember their fallen heroes as the Last Post echoed around the grounds.
The names of 209 former Barnard Castle School students and staff, killed in global conflict over the decades, were read out by pupils in a poignant tribute to their ultimate sacrifice for King and Country.
Simple wooden crosses, each carrying the name of the fallen student, were planted at the Eye of God poppy in an act of Remembrance.
Thirteen-year-old bugler Tom Staley, of Richmond, sounded The Last Post marking the start of the two minutes silence for more 700 pupils, aged four to 18, and staff from the senior and preparatory schools.
In the Great War of 1914-18, 150 Old Barnardians lost their lives, another 58 died in the Second World War and one in the Falkland’s campaign.
The Remembrance Day ceremony was also a touching moment for headmaster David Cresswell whose father is English and mother German and had grandparents fighting on both sides of World War II.
He said: “This year carries special significance: 80 years since the end of the Second World War – a reminder that, even as time moves on, the duty to remember does not fade. The silence we share connects us across generations to those who once stood where you stand now – many of them Old Barnardians. Among them were the 209 whose names you will shortly hear. Each represents a life, a story and a sacrifice that gave us the freedoms we often take for granted.
“Together, we remember not only those who gave their lives in past conflicts, but also those who serve today – including parents within our community who continue to protect and support our country.
“My own family straddled both sides of the war. This reminds me what remembrance truly means: not just the cost of conflict, but the power of reconciliation. From the hardship of that generation came peace, understanding and the belief that even those once divided could build something better together. I stand here as the product of that reconciliation – and as a reminder that remembrance is as much about hope as it is about history.”
Watched by a large contingent of the school’s Combined Cadet Force, Mr Cresswell, Prep School headmistress Laura Turner and housemaster Ed Midcalf laid wreaths on behalf of the Old Barnardians, the school and the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham.
Prayers were led by the Rev Canon Alec Harding and the school sang I Vow to Thee my Country and the National Anthem.