Sunderland school boy shows great-grandfather's precious war memorabilia as school gives virtual VE Day tribute
Harry Wilson had planned to show off his collection of artefacts from the conflict to his classmates at Sunderland’s Barbara Priestman Academy.
But while physical celebrations might have been called off, the 14-year-old was able to use virtual commemorations of VE Day on Friday, May 8, to reveal some of his medals, dog tags and bullets.
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Hide Ad“It’s just a small selection of what he’s got,” said dad Neil.
“He’s been collecting them for a couple of years now, my dad, his grandad, gave him the medals and once he got those he started to look into the other memorabilia.”
Part of the collection includes mementos from his great grandfather’s, also called Harry, time as an engineer in the Durham Light Infantry regiment.
Harry Senior’s war service took him from the beaches of Dunkirk, to Italy and North Africa, as well as Malta.
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Hide AdThe photograph shows him returning to one of the island’s bars in the 90s, decades after the war’s end, insisting it ‘hadn’t changed’ since he was last there in 1943.
As well as his great grandfather’s medals from WWII, Harry’s haul also includes mementos from the First World War, such as a tobacco tin and leather dog tags which belonged to his great great grandfather.
Harry said: “I just find the realm of history interesting and collecting items like this just makes me feel closer to the time period it is from.
“I mainly try and collect items from the time period of the two world wars and the time between them, mainly because my family have personal history to those wars.
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Hide Ad“I’m showing the items from the two world wars in honour to the 75 anniversary of the end of the Second World War.”