A NEW war memorial has been put up at Welland Primary School.

The etched brass and wood plaque in the school library lists 12 former pupils who died in the two world wars.

Among them is Harry Phelps, the great great uncle of James Phelps, nine, and his sister Shannon, five, who attend the school today.

Mr Phelps left Welland for a new life in Australia just before the First World War. He returned to fight for his country as a member of the ANZACs, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

The plaque was presented to the school by Welland couple John and Mary Purser. An older First World War memorial was lost when the school was extended in the 1990s.

Mrs Purser said: "We thought it would be nice for the school to have a memorial of its own. There's a war memorial outside the village hall but the school one is specifically for those soldiers who were once pupils, even if they didn't live in the village."

Headteacher Gill Callaghan said it was important for children to know about history, especially the role local people had played in it.

Lots of research went into finding the names for the memorial and Mrs Purser has produced a folder containing a brief biography of each soldier, sailor and airman named. It also contains photographs, maps, regimental details and anecdotes collected from local people about the men.

"Everyone was so helpful when I started doing the research," said Mrs Purser, who hopes the children will find out more and add to it.