he first trees have been planted at a hugely poignant forest-in-the-making which will serve as England’s First World War Centenary Wood.

The 640-acre site for the project is at Langley Vale, on the border between Epsom Downs and Mole Valley.

The Woodland Trust announced earlier this year that four Flagship Woods, spanning 1,000 acres will be planted, one each in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in a £20m initiative to mark the anniversary of the start of the war.

The site, which is bigger than the Olympic Park, is expected to have 200,000 trees planted on it and is next to Epsom Downs where troops were trained and where Lord Kitchener inspected troops before they were deployed to the trenches.

The first trees were planted there on Friday by children from the Vale Primary School, volunteers and a representative from the project’s lead partner Sainsbury’s.

Tim Richardson and Ian Church, local historians who visit schools educating pupils about the war, were also there dressed in the military attire of World War One.

Sainsbury’s hand-picked David Appleton, from Diss, Suffolk, to plant the first Sainsbury’s-funded tree in honour of his four great-uncles, George, Charles, Henry and Frances James, who were all killed in action in 1915 and 1916.

Mr Appleton said: "I think the new Centenary Woods are as fitting a means of commemoration as can be imagined: practical, beneficial and long-term sustainable.

"A wood is the polar opposite of war - a beautiful, peaceful oasis of calm and life which throws into sharp contrast all that war brings."

A total of 8,000 trees were planted over two days, with 500 people turning up on the community planting day on Saturday.

A spokesman for the trust said £8m has been raised of the £20m needed to pay for the project so it still needs people to donate.

Beccy Speight, Woodland Trust chief executive, said: "We still need the funds to pay for all the sites but we are well on our way to creating four beautiful, growing focal points by 2018, as well as having planted millions more trees and helped to create hundreds of woods, to give thanks to all those who sacrificed so much.

"All those who made sacrifices in the First World War did so in the hope of securing a brighter future for the next generation.

"In this centenary year, we can’t think of a better way to give thanks for this than creating thousands of acres of life-giving native woodland, as a legacy for the whole country."

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People can dedicate a tree at the site to loved ones, ancestors or namesakes as a special thank you to a past generation.

Dedicate a tree for £20 to someone who lived or served in the First World War. Call 0800 915 1914 or go to www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/mylocalpaper