Schoolboys build Horrible Histories-style First World War battlefield in their back GARDEN complete with trenches, barbed wire, a watch tower and a shoot-out range
SHOOLBOY brothers have remembered their fallen ancestors by building a mock World War One battlefield in their GARDEN.
History boys Ethan and Reuben Harvey reconstructed the trenches of the war to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
The Harvey brothers have two distant uncles who died in the battle.
Their back garden looks like something straight out of the CBBC series Horrible Histories and features one large and one small trench, a watch tower, a guard post, a shoot out, tank traps and no man's land.
They have even spent a winter's night in one of the trenches to go someway towards understanding the conditions of the Somme.
Ethan, 17, and Reuben, 13, also spend most of their weekends taking part in battle re-enactments.
Ethan said: "We got our love of history from watching war films with our grandfather.
"We now spend quite a lot of time researching the wars, trying to find out more every day.
"We started the garden in 2014 to commemorate the start of the war and over two years have just added more stuff. We dug the large trench this year for the Somme.
"Members of the public and some of our teachers have come to see it. Everyone is very impressed.
"About five years ago we started going to military shows and enjoyed those too, so we became members of a couple of re-enactment groups.
"It's a lot of fun going to shows and displays and it has a purpose.
"Members of the public are really nice but sometimes a little surprised, because most of the people who do this sort of thing are older.
"I don't really want to go into the army. I'd prefer to go into the academic side instead, and study history."
The boys' mother Joanne, 43, remains surprisingly relaxed about the fact her garden has been turned into a war zone.
She said: "As a mum it's nice just to support the boys.
"We are lucky enough to have a large garden and I'd rather they be out there than sitting inside playing computer games all the time.
"I was really impressed as they did most of it themselves. I was just there to support them with warm cups of tea and stew, and cleaning up the mud in the house afterwards.
"Fortunately it did not cost very much. We bought a few sandbags off eBay but beyond that it's just stuff the boys have collected.
"They wanted to make it as realistic as possible, and the soldiers did not have very much.
"Other people we meet at the re-enactments say I must be so proud, and I am.
"They've got some of their friends involved too and they all really enjoy it."
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