Queen Elizabeth has visited a school where 18 children were killed during a First World War bombing raid in 1917.
The 91-year-old monarch and her husband Prince Philip made the trip to Mayflower Primary School in Poplar – which was named Upper North Street School at the time of the bombing – on Thursday (15.06.17) to honour the memory of the children aged between four and six who were killed 100 years ago when a daylight bomb from a German aircraft hit the building.
Queen Elizabeth and Philip, 96, also attended a memorial service at the nearby All Saints Church where, at the time, the funerals of 15 of the children took place.
Whilst at the church, the royal couple joined a 250-strong congregation in remembering the victims of the bombing, as well as honouring the victims of the more recent Grenfell Tower tragedy which took place earlier this week and saw at least 17 people killed when the 27-storey block of flats was engulfed in a devastating fire.
The Reverend Jane Hodges told the attendees: "We will pray for peace in our hearts, peace in our community and peace in our world. Today we will also hold in our hearts all those affected by the dreadful fire in west London."
The service also saw a children’s choir sing ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’ before the names of the 18 bombing victims were read out.
During her visit, Queen Elizabeth also met some of the relatives of those killed in the blast, including 90-year-old Donald Challen, whose cousin William Challen died aged five.
From the church, the Queen and Prince Philip were driven a few hundred yards to Mayflower Primary School, which was re-built in 1928 just up the road from the original Upper North Street School, where the monarch unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit.
Queen Elizabeth visits school bombed in First World War
