AN event to remember Herefordshire soldiers killed in the First World War has received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

As part of Herefordshire’s 1916 Centenary Jutland and Somme Commemoration, a sum of £9,200 has been awarded to armed forces charity SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families) Herefordshire.

The grant will support Herefordshire’s marking of the centenary of the battles of the First World War in 1916, remembering particularly the Royal Navy with an event in Ledbury on June 25.

The money has been given from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s First World War ‘then and now’ programme.

The Battle of Jutland unlike the Battle of the Somme is less well known, but in that battle in the North Sea lasting 12 hours there were nearly 10,000 casualties, and in those 12 hours Britain could have lost the entire war.

Thirteen men from Herefordshire were killed at the Battle of Jutland and 290 in the Somme campaign, including 92 in the extraordinary defence of Redan Ridge against overwhelming odds.

On Armed Forces Day, which is June 25, Ledbury will host a full programme of activities to commemorate the battles of 1916 between 10am and 4pm.

The event is free of charge and historical exhibits including a World War One tank will be on show alongside a continuous film about the Battle of Jutland and the Battle of The Somme.

There will also be music, singing and a commemorative parade.

The stories of Jutland, The Somme and Redan Ridge will be told in a specially written booklet that will be given free to visitors to Ledbury on June 25.

In it are the names of all the men of Herefordshire who did not come home.

This will be Herefordshire’s annual Armed Forces Day, Royal British Legion Rally and First World War commemoration all combined into a full day for the whole family.

Chairman of the organising committee Commander Andrew Wynn said: “The volunteers organising this day of commemoration are very glad to have the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

"It makes all the difference in being able to put on a day that we want to be fun for all the family but will also tell everyone about the sacrifices of a hundred years ago that lie behind the freedoms many people take for granted today.”