Editor's note: Last year, Iain and Jen Smith of England decided to begin a programme of photographing the headstones and burial places of Bermudian soldiers in Europe from the two world wars. Iain is related to a Bermudian and writes about this memorial service to the island:I HAVE always had an interest in military history and, whilst in the army, made a point of visiting any war cemeteries in the area where I was stationed to pay my respects. However, my really deep interest was sparked when my son Cameron visited the battlefields on the Somme area in France with his school. On his return he told my wife Jen and me that we should really go and see it for ourselves.

A work colleague suggested a place to stay in Auchonvilliers, a village on the edge of the front line in July 1916 when the battles of the Somme started.

We stayed with an English lady, Avril Williams, who has run a guesthouse in the village for some 15 years. She is a mine of information on the war particularly in that area and willingly shares her knowledge with others.

We met others whilst there, most of whom were looking for family members who lost their lives in the war. Neither Jen nor I had family members involved in the Great War but decided to try to find out what had happened to the people from the village of Somersham in Huntingdonshire where we now live.

We felt it would be a worthwhile project to photograph their graves or memorials, then put them in a book and place it the village church so it would be available for family members or others with a similar interest to view. We have been working on this for about the last ten years and it is nearing completion.

My cousin Caroline James lived in Bermuda and we had visited her and her husband Tom several times, so felt it would be good if we could do a similar project on the men from Bermuda who made the ultimate sacrifice.

I contacted the Bermuda Maritime Museum after advice from Tom to offer my services. The intention is to photograph as many of the graves or memorials to Bermuda men as possible and also the cemetery where they lie and send these to the museum to add to their records.

It is humbling to stand in the middle of the open country, especially in the Somme area, and look around. The number of cemeteries in some areas within view is staggering, bearing in mind as well that a lot of the small burial areas were brought into larger concentrated cemeteries.

We hope that all Bermudians with ancestors who took part in the Great War of 1914-1918 will appreciate our work in the fullness of time.