Whistle Last Blown At The Somme Sounds For First Time In A Century

An Army officer's whistle which was last used on the battlefield of the Somme has been blown, more than a century later, to launch a new remembrance charity.

Former England rugby captain Lewis Moody and bestselling author Martina Cole were among those at the unveiling of the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWFG) at Tower Hill Memorial in Trinity Square, London.

The foundation has been set up by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) to keep alive the memory of the 1.7million servicemen and women killed in the two world wars.

Ros Kelly, chairwoman of the new foundation, said:

"A century after the First World War, and 75 years since the Second, we need to answer a difficult question - how can we expect a younger generation to remember those they could never have known?

"The answer was to create a new charity, the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation, whose mission it is to tell the stories of those who died, and help keep their memories alive."

The CWGC, which is 100 years old this year, said the foundation had been set up to "empower young people to carry the legacy forward for another century".

It will be running outreach events and educational projects aiming to "bridge the generational gap".

Moody and Cole are ambassadors for the foundation.

The former's grandfather and namesake, Lewis M Moody, fought in the first battle of Ypres and his great-grandparents lost three of their sons during the First World War.

Cole's father served in the Second World War as a merchant seaman.