THE villagers of Northlew ensured that the servicemen who gave their lives for Britain's freedom during the First World War were remembered in the centenary of the start of the war. Although a small village, Northlew has the sad distinction of having lost the highest proportion of its enlisting population of any municipality in Britain during the war. Of the 100 men who enlisted, 24 were killed. The village held the biggest event in its history on Saturday, to remember those who died. An RAF SE5 biplane made in 1917 flew over the village, and a spectacular parade involving servicemen from the Devonshire and Dorest Regiment, HMS Drake, Chelsea Pensioners, the Royal British Legion and many others took place. In the twilight, houses surrounding the village square were illuminated with projections of the war highlighting the bombings, life in the trenches, and the after effects of the war, such as shell shock. A Canadian Oak tree was planted in the village park by Bernard Bejar, managing director of Sutton Seeds. The firm donated 50 kilos of seeds for the 20-mile long poppy avenue on the verges of the road from Northlew to Okehampton. The avenue is the longest of its kind in the world. One direction points in an exact line to Flanders, and the other is the way the new recruits would have walked to go to the train station and off to war —with many never to return to the village. A small area of Northlew's square has been sown with grass seed from Flanders and Northlew Poppy seeds, to create a Corner of a Foreign Field in a nod to the poem 'The Soldier' penned by Rupert Brooke. The poem was written while Brooke was on leave at Christmas, 1914, and reflects on the immortal legacy of soldiers involved in the war. Organiser Christopher Marston said there were 800 people watching the event on Saturday which was amazing for a little village like Northlew. 'I think is our village could be any village and that is why a lot of people wanted to remember. 'What Saturday also showed was how a village can come together.' A sum of £1,200 was raised on the day which will be split between different local charities and a special 'Northlew Tommy' beer has been brewed by Holsworthy Brewery, which is available in the local pubs.