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School project a link to the past

Nicola Bairstow will be part of the Anzac march.

When Nicola Bairstow marches along Albany's main street this morning, she can be sure of one thing.

Percy Wilfred Bairstow's heart would swell with pride could he be there to see her.

Nicola, 15, a Year 10 student at Albany's Great Southern Grammar, is related to Percy through her great-great-grandfather.

And it was the bravery and sacrifice of Anzacs such as Percy some 100 years ago that helped form the values that have allowed young Australians like Nicola to grow up free and prosperous.

Yesterday, Nicola joined those who honoured Percy and his mates by helping plant handmade poppies in Middleton Beach, and today she will be part of a pipe band marching past tens of thousands of visitors expected to line York Street for one of the key Anzac centenary events.

The march will also include Australian and New Zealand defence force members and cadets, the Royal Australian Navy Band and members of the ex-service community.

Nicola researched Percy's story as part of the school's Anzac project, which includes designing artwork to be printed on to glass panels to be installed at the school, and production of a book on local WWI soldiers.

Percy Bairstow was descended from Jacob and Sarah Bairstow, who had migrated from Yorkshire to Adelaide in the 1830s.

The name Bairstow then became well known through the farming districts around Dumbleyung, and Percy was on the land when war broke out in 1914.

Two years later he enlisted, aged 30, becoming a reinforcement of the 16th Battalion, and sailed from Fremantle on the transport vessel Seang Bee on July 18, 1916.

He was wounded in action in France in 1917 but recovered enough to rejoin the battalion, and finally sailed for home in 1919, after the war ended. Nicola said that after the war he returned to WA, and lived to the age of 87.

She said that through her research she had developed a real sense of connection. The Anzacs were very brave, particularly those who signed up after news of the mounting casualties at Gallipoli started to come through, she said.

"Percy was exceptionally brave because by the time he left, he knew," Nicola said.