Exhibition showcases children’s responses to their research into Worthing’s fallen, including artwork and poetry

Children aged seven to 11 have been working alongside the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Worthing 50 Things Project to explore the stories of the people who lost their lives as a result of the war.

Sarah Nathaniel, public engagement co-ordinator for the CWGC in the south east, said: "The thinking behind it is that this year is a big year in this country, the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and that was very much our focus, to try to learn something about some of the men and women who went from Worthing out to fight or do their part in the war and sadly didn't come home.

"I knew they would come up with something special when we did the workshops but having seen the time and the effort that they put into the research and the creative responses to what they've learned is just phenomenal."

Pupils at Homefield Primary School, Bramber Primary School and Durrington Infant and Junior Federated Schools looked into names on Worthing's War Memorial and researched the fallen to find out about their lives and experiences.

Worthing borough councillors joined parents and teachers at Worthing Library on Monday, June 2, to learn more about the project from the children and to view their work.

Carl Walker, Selden Ward councillor, said: "I'm absolutely blown away by all of the work, the poetry, the pictures, the stories, it is so amazing. The great thing about this is it's going to go out to thousands of people in Worthing, they're going to learn from what has been written."

Claire Hunt, Goring Ward councillor, said: "It looks beautiful and very creative. You can see the quality of the research that has gone into it and it's very inspiring. It's obviously made a really big impression and that comes over in the poems and the artwork."

Dan Hermitage, Selden Ward councillor, said: "It's been amazing to see. We all learn a lot about the Second World War during our time at school but to see the detail, honing in on exactly what it meant to people in Worthing was really great.

"Someone did a bit of work on Sugden Road. It's those streets that we walk down every day, and that remembrance and that side to it, that we remember things happened a long time ago and are still really relevant today."

The exhibition will be on show at Worthing Library for a couple of weeks before moving to Worthing Town Hall.

Sarah said: "There is a comments book and we're hoping that people who see it are inspired to leave a comment, which obviously we will then feedback to the children so they're able to see what everybody thought about their hard work."