TRIBUTES were paid to three brothers, lost within a month in separate arenas of battle during the First World War.

Members of the Earl family gathered at Callington War Memorial to lay a wreath and remember James, John and William Earl.

James, 22, and John, 21, had both served as 1st class stokers on HMS Defence, which sank in the Battle of Jutland. Their brother William, 27, served in the army in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, and was killed in the Battle of Kut, Iraq.

“This was all within just days of each other. What a shock to any parent,” said Marlene Earl, who is the great-niece of the three brothers. All three names are on Callington’s War Memorial, and on the memorial to the fallen on Plymouth’s Hoe.

Laying the wreath was former Army and RAF serviceman Derek Earl, his nephew Noel, a serving officer in the Territorial Army, and his granddaughter Taylor-May. It was the first time attending a Remembrance ceremony for Taylor-May and she was proud to be asked to wear her grandfather’s medal, said Marlene.

“Callington’s memorial was beautifully decorated by poppies, and St Mary's Church with the poppy wave was an amazing backdrop. It was a moving Remembrance for everyone.”