A wildflower meadow at Jellyfields Nature Reserve has been dedicated to the Bridport men who served in the Great War.

More than 25 people gathered at the reserve at 11am last Friday to watch the special dedication unfold and help sow new poppy and cornflower seeds across the meadow ready for bloom in the spring.

Mayor Cllr Maggie Ray and Canon Andrew Evans dedicated the meadow and put up a memorial board at Jellyfields as a tribute to the 153 Bridport men who served in the Great War.

A bench was also installed at the lower end of the meadow and fresh poppy seeds were sown around the bench.

This year, Heritage Lottery funding allowed the Bridport Heritage Forum – a group of local volunteers – to organise a series of events and projects to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

Speaking at the event, Bridport Heritage Forum treasurer Sheila Meaney, said: “We wanted to have a memorial as a tribute to the people of that time, not only those who served overseas but those also at home.

“As the town already has a war memorial on South Street we thought it would be nice to have a renewable memorial and the nature reserve here was perfect.

“We want the wildflower meadow to be a place of tranquillity and peacefulness where people can remember the sacrifices of those 100 years ago.

“We are grateful to everyone in Bridport for helping us raise funds for the bench through the Waitrose Community Matters scheme.”

Two-year-old Elsbeth Smith from Bridport was among those helping to scatter poppy seeds around the new bench.

Mum Kathy Smith said: “We regularly walk round the meadow for exercise so a dedication like this is such a great idea.

“The Bridport community will appreciate it, provided as many people as possible know about it.”

Mayor Maggie Ray also made a speech at the event, before some ceremonial digging to fill in the foundations of the memorial plaque.

She thanked people for coming and praised the hard work of everyone who made the dedicated meadow possible. Following this, Canon Andrew Evans spoke at the event which ended with a prayer.

He said: “Today we remember those who lost their lives, they left from this lovely place into hell. As we remember the fallen, processes like this are so important.”