Melodious pupils from Tavistock Primary have been praised for their public singing at a specially written and composed Remembrance concert.

‘Voices of War, a Cry for Peace’ was staged at Tavistock Methodist Church on Friday, November 6 to parents in the afternoon and the general public in the evening.

Lisa Base, Tavistock Primary School drama and music teacher, conducted the school’s well-regarded Big Choir singing together with a local community choir.

She wrote and directed the performance, while Tracy Harding composed the original music.

Lisa said: “Tracy and I could not be more proud of the members of Years 4, 5 and 6 who made up the Big Choir and who were able to attend the evening performance of ‘Voices of War - A Cry for Peace’ alongside our community choir. Their behaviour was as perfect as their singing.”

Two years ago they performed ‘The Lion Roars’, based round Winston Churchill’s stirring speeches. Last year they staged ‘A Cry for Peace’ telling the stories of their own relatives in war, inspired by ‘Lest We Forget: TheTavistock Fallen of the Second World War’ by local historians Alex Mettler and Gerry Woodcock.

Lisa said: “It’s vital we don’t forget all those who were willing to die for their country. The fact that the children have told the story of their own relatives in previous years really brings it home to them.

“This year, as always, we’re telling stories of particular people and their roles in conflict. One such person was Garth Wright, from Horndon, who was a teacher at our school who fought for his country. The performance includes spoken quotes from writings from D-Day and Dunkirk.

“It’s easier, as wars get further and further away, to forget, so we teach the children in class how important it was that their forebears did so we could live in peace, then we cement it with these performances.”