PARENTS, teachers and pupils from local primary schools met at Larkhill Primary School on Saturday to see the results of their efforts in uncovering the site of the old First World War horse hospital at Larkhill.

The ‘Digging Warhorse’ project involved 350 pupils from ten local primary schools as well as wounded soldiers from Operation Nightingale and young soldiers in training in the Garrison.

On display were many of the items that the young archaeologists had uncovered and, to make the day more authentic, army chefs from the garrison had prepared an authentic First World War trench stew complete with corn bread and soup.

Also on display were a 18 pounder gun, a Model T Ford light reconnaissance vehicle and artillery equipment – all provided by the enthusiasts from The Garrison Artillery Volunteers.

One of the young diggers was Joshua Harrison, nine, from Appleford School. He said: “We dug up things like nails with washers, pottery, tiles and glass.

“It was a very good day and it made you realise that there were more things about than you could normally see. It was very interesting and enjoyable.”

Archaeologist Julian Richards said: “Larkhill had a very important role in the Great War.

“It changed radically from a tented camp to a hutted camp, but many people do not realise just how important horses were at this time. They not only built hospitals for the soldiers, but they built medical facilities for the horses.

“We wanted to find the hospital.

We knew approximately where it was, we have maps and references, but, bizarrely, no photographs of any of the buildings.

“We had two weeks’ excavation; we dug test pits, had controlled metal detecting but we found no traces of the buildings.

“When it was returned to farmland, the farmer removed all traces of the buildings, although we found some stunning First World War drains.

The project is due to finish in March and organisers will be celebrating with puppetry, artists, poetry and Michael Morpurgo.