Memorial to mark neglected battle

A British architect has designed a memorial for a French battlefield after he found it being used as a dumping ground by a local farmer.

Lincoln architect Michael Credland vowed to honour the veterans killed in the 1915 battle of Loos after he visited in 2005.

Pupils from Gainsborough's Middlefield School of Technology will travel to the unveiling in Loos in October.

The Loos offensive in autumn 1915 resulted in 50,000 British casualties.

Unmarked graves

Mr Credland decided to design and build a memorial for the site after he found it unmarked.

"I vowed to get a memorial built and get the dumping stopped," he said.

He said many of the soldiers killed in the battle still lie in the fields in unmarked graves.

The memorial is made of white Portland stone with a octagon design showing a broken column.

"It is 46 inches tall with a 46% angle on the column to mark the 46th North Midland Division territorial force that fought there."

A French farmer donated a piece of land to the project.