A REMEMBRANCE talk by Captain Carol Betteridge, OBE, at The Royal Senior School, Haslemere, followed last week’s services of Remembrance for senior and junior pupils.

Senior students heard about the remarkable work undertaken to rehabilitate wounded service men and women firsthand from Captain Betteridge, who works as veterans’ clinical adviser with Help for Heroes at Tidworth, in Wiltshire.

The former naval officer was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, where she ran the military hospital.

Captain Betteridge described the courage and determination shown by the wounded and the care, support and encouragement offered by Help for Heroes. Sharing the stories of some individual soldiers and their families, she spoke of the advances in prosthetics, medical and psychiatric support that enable them to find a new way forwards.

Royal principal Anne Lynch said: “We are very grateful to Captain Betteridge for giving us an insight into the work of Help for Heroes.

“We all felt a real sense of humility and perspective. It was so inspiring to hear again and again of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.”

Every Royal Junior School pupil contributed a Prayer Poppy as part of the school’s Remembrance commemorations, to the display of around 200 in Hindhead Court. At its Remembrance service, prayers and poems were read by the head and deputy head girls and boys.

Afterwards 28 more prayer poppies were planted in the A3 slip road roundabout as a temporary installation and a prep school pupil played The Last Post.

The senior school’s service focused on the lives of those affected by war in today’s society, with particular reference to the remarkable work of Help for Heroes.

To commemorate the centenary of the Great War, students were invited to submit works of art and poetry to a national competition, ‘Never Such Innocence’.

There were more than 1,200 entries and year 10 senior pupil Emily’s poem, ‘A Ring’, won third prize in the aged 11-14 category.