NORTH Wiltshire MP James Gray is to visit all of his constituency’s 209 war graves as part of the First World War centenary year commemorations, and yesterday called on his fellow MPs to do the same.

During yesterday’s Commons debate on the First World War commemorations, Mr Gray said: “The Commonwealth War Graves Commission recently took me around several of the war graves in my constituency.

“I have set about visiting all 55 churchyards with Commonwealth war graves in my constituency, 209 graves in total. Whether I will achieve that, we will have to see. I am taking with me children from local primary and secondary schools that are near those graves. That may be an initiative that others want to follow.”

Among the nearby cemeteries containing war graves Mr Gray will be visiting are Lydiard Millicent All Saints, Wootton Bassett, St Michael’s in Lyneham and Holy Cross in Ashton Keynes.

Yesterday Mr Gray added: “I have now written to a number of schools in North Wiltshire, to invite them to join me in visiting neighbouring cemeteries and churchyards so that our young people can participate in honouring the graves and the memory of Wiltshire residents who fell in the First and Second World Wars.

“We must do our best to make sure that these soldiers are remembered by generations to come.”