THIS year’s Armistice celebrations were particularly poignant as the centenary of the end of the First World War was marked across the country.

But for one woman, November 11 was also a chance to keep a promise to her late mother.

Liz Fenwick, a retired teacher from Morpeth, attended the remembrance service at Haydon Bridge in memory of her uncles, James and Henry Stonehouse.

Both James, a former pitman who is named on the Haydon Bridge war memorial, and Henry, who had emigrated to Australia in 1912, were killed during the First World War.

Liz first visited Haydon Bridge on Armistice Day six years ago, but decided to return to mark the centenary of the end of the war.

She said: “Before my mother died in the 1980s, she got very upset that nobody would remember her brothers. I said that I would, and asked her to tell me about them, but she never did.

“When I retired, I tasked myself with researching them and found that they had been commemorated in Haydon Bridge.

“ I signed up to ancestry online, but it was very complex. All I really had was a photograph of one of the brothers, and I didn’t even know which one of them it was.

“I first visited Haydon Bridge in 2012, but it was such a huge celebration this year that I wanted to return.”

Liz took the photograph of James with her on Sunday, as well as a memorial plaque given to her mother after Henry was killed.

Known as a ‘Dead Man’s Penny,’ because of their resemblance to a normal penny, the small bronze plaques were issued after the First World War to the next of kin of all British service personnel who died as a result of the war.

In all, 1,355,000 plaques were issued, each with a letter and commemorative scroll from King George.

Liz says she feels she has kept her promise to her mother, and complimented Haydon Bridge’s service.

She added: “I promised my mother I would remember them and I wanted to keep that promise.

“The service was wonderful, it was very moving.

“Having been a teacher for a long time, it was nice to see the Scouts and Guides marching in the parade.”