COMMUNITY and youth groups from across the North West travelled to the battlefields of Europe to pay respects to those killed in the World Wars.

Members of the youth group FACE (Family and Community Enterprise) travelled to Belgium and France to attend the commemorations.

Yaseen Seedat from FACE said: “It was a real eye-opening experience for the group. I think the community needs to know more about this part of history which is not shared as much as it should be.”

Representatives from the Gujarat Hindu Society also attended the service for the fallen held at the Indian Army Memorial at Neuve Chapelle, France, to remember the Jullundur Brigade which was made up of Indian and British soldiers from The Manchester Regiment.

Among those attending were Prahladbhai Nayee, Umedlal Parmar, Vijayanti Chauhan, Balvantrai Panchal, Kantilal Mistry and Mohanbhai Parmar.

Colonel Chris Owen, the regimental secretary of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, said: “There were Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians in the Jullundur Brigade, a microcosm of the area where we recruit now.

“The multi-cultural element of the war is often overlooked, but we have to remember that it was an empire then and we have a Commonwealth now.

“This is all about strengthening ties between us and the community and celebrating our shared history and knowledge.”

A group of students from Marsden Heights community College travelled to the First World War battlefield sites in Belgium.

Earlier in the month, to mark 100 years since the first Indian soldiers landed in Marseille to support British and French troops in 1914, the city hosted a commemorative event attended by Indian, French and British dignitaries.

It featured a Sikh platoon who re-enacted the first regiment that disembarked in France.