THREE generations of relatives of an old boy who fought in the First World War visited Bury Grammar School for a special service.

The family of William Morris, who fought at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 while serving as a second lieutenant with the 11th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, visited the school for the unveiling of a shield dedicated in his name.

Morris was school captain from 1912 to 1914 and an athlete and former running mate, at Cambridge University, of Harold Abrahams, who featured in the film Chariots of Fire.

He leg seriously injured in by machine gun fire in the war, but he continued athletics, and the school created the Morris Shield in recognition of his sporting achievements. The shield has now been officially framed and displayed in the school in Tenterden Street.

The unveiling took place in conjunction with the official opening of a poignant memorial to old boys who lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars.

The Fallen Heroes memorial is made up of individual, hand-made ceramic poppies which have been made over the past six months by current students.

Bob Morris, William Morris’s son, said: “The welcome and presentations in the boys’ assembly hall were moving, interesting and made me appreciate for the first time quite how devastating – and yet possibly – inspiring the Great War had been and possibly continues to be for the boys at BGSB.

“And, of course, it was a huge honour to be invited as a family to open formally such a creative and evocative exhibition.”

The school welcomed old boys, family and guests from across the country to the event, including former pupil Colonel Dennis Walton, aged 96, who travelled from Derbyshire.

Each poppy in the display carries the name of one of the 145 old boys who died in the wars, as well as a stamp of the school crest in the clay.

The memorial was inspired by Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, the ceramic poppy display held at the Tower of London last year and its creator, Paul Cummins, was in contact with Kiri Gore, head of art at BGSB, to offer support and inspiration on the project.