A 21-year-old Bermudian who died in the First World War was hailed as "one of the Island's forgotten heroes" in the period leading up to Remembrance Day.

Andy Bermingham described Leonard DeGraff Godet as a "brilliant" student who gave his life while serving with the Royal Flying Corps in 1918.

Mr. Bermingham spoke to Hamilton Rotarians on behalf of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

He highlighted Mr. Godet and a handful of Bermudians for their service in the world wars, saying their graves are now scattered around the globe.

According to Mr. Bermingham, Mr. Godet was born in Paget in 1896.

He was a Rhodes Scholar. He received his pilot wings on August 14, 1917 and went to France on active service four days later.

He died June 1, 1918, when his plane was brought down in flames across German lines in France, after completing 16 long-distance raids.

Buried at Chambieres French National Cemetery in Metz, Mr. Godet is one of 1,650,000 fallen fighters of World War One and World War Two, issued a gravestone by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Mr. Bermingham, whose speech preceded yesterday's Remembrance Day celebrations, said such graves and memorials are scattered around the world. He highlighted two in Antigua, one in the Canary Islands and five in Chile and 138 in Bermuda. He said that 74 are at the Royal Naval Cemetery in Dockyard, and there is a lone grave in Warwick honouring a 17-year-old recruit.

"You may think, 'how is that possible when we weren't in the main theatre of action?'" said Mr. Bermingham. "But the Commonwealth War Graves Commission discriminates against no one in relation to how they died or where they served."

Even if a soldier died in Bermuda of pneumonia in the great flu pandemic of 1918, they are given the same simple stone as a decorated officer who died in the trenches.

Mr. Bermingham said: "It was agreed that one simple stone irrespective of [a soldier's] race, colour, creed or country would suffice to mark that fallen soldier."

He said that other Bermudians who lost their lives during the wars include William Edmund Smith of the Royal Navy who was lost on the HMS Aboukir in 1914.

His parents William Felix Smith and Emma Jane (Douglas) of Harmon's Hill, Somerset, received a letter signed by Winston Churchill, conveying the sympathy of the King and Queen.

Black Bermudian Charles Kennedy Smith was in the First Canadian Artillery and awarded the Military Medal given for acts of bravery in 1916. He was killed in action in 1917 and a medal from the Governor General of Canada was sent to Mr. Smith's father in Sandys.

"Based on Bermuda's size Bermuda played a vital part in World War II," said Mr. Bermingham. "It's important to remember, because what is happening in contemporary world, today, means we still haven't reached the point where we live in harmony. If these people are forgotten than where is our moral compass?" he asked.

He encouraged people to remember those who had served in war every day, and to donate to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. For information E-mail casualty.enq@cwcg.org.