Pupils from a north-east primary school paid tribute to those who fought and fell at the Battle of Jutland during an excursion to Orkney.
The nine children and two teachers from Peterhead’s Burnhaven Primary returned from the islands yesterday after a series of commemoration events.
During their trip – which was a prize for winning an annual Legion Scotland primary school competition – they visited the Hoxa defensive battery and Scapa Flow, where seven battleships still lie today.
The nine and 10-year-olds also paid tribute to those who lost their lives during the biggest naval battle of WWI by laying commemorative crosses at the Royal Naval Cemetery in Lyness.
More than 6,000 British personnel and 2,500 Germans died on May 31, 1916 during the ferocious conflict.
Christian Ritchie, a teacher at Burnhaven Primary School, said: “Going on the trip brought to life all the stories, photographs and reports the pupils had collated as part of their research.
“Being able to see the shipwrecks and visit the cemetery really brought home the human collateral of the battle. This was a once-in-a-lifetime school trip that we will all remember for the rest of our lives.”
The annual Legion Scotland competition is funded by Co-Operative Funeral Care and the Scottish Government.
Pupils from P5, P6 and P7 classes across the country were asked to produce a newspaper article about life on board a First World War Battleship.
