A daughter's treasured letter sent by her father from the trenches Christmas 1917 will be read as a monologue in a new production celebrating the centenary of the First World War.

Children of the Great War was made from 127 filmed interviews over 18 months at venues across London, including Greenwich and Bexley Hospice, by Blackheath-based charity Age Exchange.

It will be performed at Bridewell Theatre in East London on August 1 and 2.

Artistic director David Savill said: “Every word spoken in the play is taken directly from the interviews.

“I didn't want the production to be a history lesson but the personal stories of families on the Home Front affected by those who served in the Great War.”

Some of the people interviewed had never shared their stories before, David said, and it was emotional for them.

He said: “Some service personnel did come home from the War, but others didn't - and we have many sad and moving stories on record, including one family where all of the children were sent to the workhouse because their widowed mother could no longer afford to keep them.”

Ten people will perform their own words in the play which features a series of vignettes interspersed with music, song and dance. Pupils from St Matthew's Academy and Plumstead Manor Schools also appear.

Tickets cost £5. E-mail alex.mustapha@age-exchange.org.uk or call 020 83189105.