Top army official moved by U.K. schoolchildrens' Newfoundland war ceremony

One of the Canadian Armed Forces' top officials in the United Kingdom says he's very moved by one English elementary school's dedication to remembering Newfoundland's First World War contributions.

Brig.-Gen. Matthew Overton, Commander of the Canadian Defence Liaison Staff in London, found out about the remembrance ceremonies put on by Beatrix Potter Elementary each year, after On The Go host Ted Blades posted a letter about it on the CBC NL website.

• A letter from London: Remembrance Day, 2015

Overton then came to the school to meet the children himself, witness their performance and visit the 18 Newfoundland graves in the nearby Wandsworth Cemetery.

"Honestly, it's really difficult to put into words, the pride — the huge sense of pride — for those that came before us," said Overton.

"To know that what they did made a difference, and that people remember."

A real sacrifice

Overton said the students exemplify the effort of both British organizations and the government to keep veterans' memories alive, as opposed to staid, stone monuments.

"They've made the individuals real, and I think that's important to remember, as we look at veterans. They're not just a great group, mass of foreign people who don't have names and faces and families — they do," said Overton.

"They're just not names, they're actually people, and they did sacrifice something real."

Overton represents the Canadian military in the U.K., and coordinates memorial services for Canadian war efforts.

He said the students' caretaking of the Newfoundland graves gives him, and his office, new energy.

"It revalidates what we do today."