Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal visited Bramshott and Liphook to mark Canada Day, where the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers during the two world wars were honoured by schoolchildren and the local community.

At St Mary’s Church in Bramshott, Princess Anne read from the Bible during a solemn Remembrance service before stepping forward to lay a wreath at the Cross of Sacrifice in the churchyard. More than 90 pupils from Liphook CofE Junior School gathered alongside her, each carrying a single maple leaf.

One by one, they laid their leaves on the graves of individual Canadian soldiers they had researched over the term. Bramshott Common had been a vital training ground for Canadian troops during both conflicts, and today, 318 Canadian soldiers are buried in its peaceful grounds.

After the church service, the Princess travelled to Liphook CofE Junior School, where Year 4 pupils presented the story of Canadian servicemen Ernest and Ronald Ede. Their tribute was a blend of drama, song, and video, telling stories from across the Atlantic with moving clarity.

During her visit, the Princess also presented a Canadian $5 coin to nine-year-old Bellamy Budd. Bellamy had been chosen for demonstrating significant learning throughout the three-month Canada Day project. He had researched a soldier named James Arthur Campbell, who died of Spanish flu in October 1918, and felt so inspired that he began to research his own family tree.

“I didn’t know that I would be the one that the Princess would give the medal to,” he said. “I felt quite excited. It was good to be paying tribute to these men, it felt quite respectful.”

Hundreds attended the day’s events, including veterans from the Royal British Legion, representatives from the High Commission of Canada and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, families of Canadian soldiers buried in Bramshott, as well as local residents, governors, and parents.

The day began with the church service, where standards were paraded, poems were read by Liphook pupils, and the rector, Rev Valentine Inglis-Jones, delivered a sermon that resonated deeply with all present.

He said: “We were honoured that our friends from Canada came far from home and gave everything for us who are here today. We honour them with our most precious gift – our children – who every year research about a specific soldier so that we and they can remember those stories.”

Afterwards, dignitaries processed to the special plot in the churchyard maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, where each wreath-layer was flanked by two schoolchildren. The Act of Remembrance included a minute’s silence and the Kohima Exhortation, read by pupils.

Later at Liphook CofE Junior School, Princess Anne was presented with the Fourth Clasp to the Canadian Forces’ Decoration by Brigadier-General Dwayne Parsons, marking an equivalent of 42 years of service. In the main hall, the children’s tribute continued.

Dressed in wartime outfits, they sang the Canadian National Anthem and wartime songs while recounting the story of Ernest Ede. Born in Bramshott in 1891, he emigrated to Canada in 1912, enlisted in 1915, and returned to Bramshott in 1916 before being sent to France, where he fought at Passchendaele.

Injured and discharged, he married Winifred at Bramshott church in 1920 and moved back to British Columbia in 1924. His connection to Bramshott lived on through his son Ronald, who served in the Second World War.

Headteacher Jacky Taylor said: “This work is a reflection of how our children learn from the past. They don’t just remember, they understand. They have each researched the history behind an individual buried in the churchyard, walking in their shoes for the past three months.”

During the First World War, Bramshott had been one of the largest Canadian military camps in the UK, with many soldiers passing through before serving in France and Flanders. Since 1942, Bramshott has hosted an annual Canada Day service, planting maple trees in St Mary’s churchyard and along the A3 in tribute to those who came so far to serve.

For the past two decades, pupils from Liphook CofE Junior School have honoured these sacrifices. This year, as part of their three-month project, they visited the graves at St Mary’s, selected a Canadian soldier each, and wrote letters, poems, and prayers to remember them. For three weeks, they rehearsed their presentation, ensuring that, just as their rector had said, these stories would never be forgotten.