A SCHOOL community fell silent to remember the 204 old boys and masters who went to war and never returned in an annual act of commemoration.
Every member of staff and all pupils, from Reception class to the Sixth Form, at Barnard Castle School turned out to recognise those who were lost in the Great War, the Second World War and other conflicts.
The names of all the 204 were read out by pupils from the Senior and Prep School as the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) honoured fallen comrades.
Poppy wreaths and crosses were laid outside the school chapel in memory of all those lost.
Headmaster Tony Jackson said: “We must always take the time, no matter how fleeting, to pay homage to those who came before us and made the ultimate sacrifice to do what they believed was right, and to give those that followed them a future.”
He told the gathered pupils: “Your generation will ultimately take on this mantle of remembrance, and how you use it will say a great deal about the society you create.
“I feel it should act as an annual reminder of what happens when communication and core values go astray, and that, regardless of your religion, nationality or background, no one country or individual has a God given right to exude power or influence over others. Leadership is about service to others.
“This occasion gives us time to reflect and to remember those from our school, who once stood where you now stand.”
Mr Jackson said the school had a significant number of children whose parents serve or have served in the military and it was also right to acknowledge their service, commitment and sacrifice.
Among the guests was Colonel Ian Greaves, a serving officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and is an Accident and Emergency consultant at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough.
He was accompanied by sons Tom, 20, who left Barney two years ago to go university in Newcastle and is a reservist in the 5thBattalion Fusiliers, which he will join full-time on graduation, and 17-year-old Owen, who is Regimental Sergeant Major of the school’s CCF and also hopes the follow the family’s army tradition.