SCHOOLCHILDREN will tomorrow pay tribute to soldiers from St Helens who paid the ultimate price in the First World War.

At 10.45 am they will plant poppies on the graves of soldiers buried in the graveyard at St Nicholas Church, Sutton.

J Butch Gilbart of the Liverpool Pals Memorial Fund has organised the event which he hopes will raise the children's awareness of the 1914-18 conflict and the debt society owes to the bravery of those who fought and perished in foreign fields.

Many St Helens men fought in the Liverpool Pals Battalions, formed by Lord Derby in August 1914. Sadly over 20 of these men gave their lives as Liverpool Pals, never to return to their families. Four hundred of these men had worked for Pilkingtons.

Now Butch is campaigning, on behalf of the men from St Helens who served in The King’s Liverpool Regiments, to raise funds for a memorial to these men for unveiling at Lime Street Station on August 31.

He said: "As a St Helens man born and bred and as an ex-soldier who served in The King’s Regiment, I feel passionately that the current generation should be aware of the sacrifice of all of the men of St Helens.

“This is a great way to raise that awareness and the poppies, as a symbol of sacrifice, will remind everyone of that sacrifice when they begin to grow. That they have been planted by young children is all the more poignant."

Mr Gilbart is appreciative of the support of B&Q in St Helens for their generosity in donating the seeds for planting and thanked the Vicar of St Nicholas, the Rev Mark Taylor, for his support.

Further information, including how you can donate to the Liverpool Pals Memorial, can be found at www.theliverpoolpalsmemorialfund.com