AN ALSTON-born musician performed on stage to commemorate those who lost their lives in one of the bloodiest battles of World War One.

To mark the centenary of the start of the Battle of Passchendaele, a ceremony was held at Tyne Cot cemetery in Ypres, Belgium, on Sunday.

Ben Murray, who grew up in Alston but now lives in London, starred as the Songman in War Horse on the West End for two years, until the final London show in March last year.

Along with a group from the National Theatre, Ben was asked to attend the commemorations to take part in a short segment from War Horse to help tell the story of the battle, where author Michael Morpurgo read out a new short story.

Ben started off the War Horse performance, singing Snow Falls from the musical production.

“It’s a bit of a rural song which gives a sense of the Devonshire countryside,” he explained. “A lot of the men who died were from rural areas such as Devon and Cumbria. It’s just a kind of reminder that the young lads were from every walk of life – everybody stepped up.”

Michael Morpurgo read the short story on top of the dramatic sounds of an orchestra. In the performance, lasting around nine minutes, Ben sang a hymn and played the accordion, while actors helped tell the story of the bloody battle.

Other live performances were from artists including Dame Helen Mirren, Alfie Boe, and the cast of The Wipers Time.

Prince Charles, Prince William and Prime Minister Theresa May were among those who paid tribute to soldiers who fought at Passchendaele, along with TM The King and Queen of the Belgians.

Some 4,000 relatives were in attendance, to mark the half a million Allied and German soldiers who were killed, wounded or went missing in the three months of fighting.

“Once all the excitement had subsided, it was only then when I got to take in Passchendaele,” added Ben.

“It was a huge honour to have been asked to be part of history.

“The feeling afterwards has been the most remarkable, I came back to London late on Monday night but the feeling of the place still hasn’t left.”