'If I should get bowled out, well it can't be helped': Prince Harry reads poignant letter from Irish Fusilier written weeks before he was killed at Gallipoli during WW1 ceremony

• Letter by Private Michael Lennon, of 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers to his brother Frank
• In it the soldier wrote: 'Well Frank, I suppose we are for it tomorrow, if we don't get shelled on the way'
• Ceremony held in St Symphorien military cemetery - only First World War cemetery to honour fallen from both sides

By Amanda Williams

Published: 05:50 EST, 5 August 2014 | Updated: 08:42 EST, 5 August 2014

Prince Harry lead moving tributes at a twilight ceremony to remember the fallen of the First World War with a poignant letter home from an Irish Fusilier, written weeks before he was killed at Gallipoli.

The moving letter was sent by Private Michael Lennon, of 1st Battalion the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Dated May 30, 1915 - it was written to his brother Frank, the day before he was due to land in Gallipoli.

In it the soldier wrote: 'Well Frank, I suppose we are for it tomorrow, if we don't get shelled on the way.

‘I can only hope that we have all the luck to come through the night and if I should get bowled out – well it can’t be helped.’

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Prince Harry lead moving tributes at a twilight ceremony to remember the fallen of World War One with a poignant letter home from an Irish Fusilier, written weeks before he was killed at Gallipoli

The Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby at the ceremony at St Symphorien Military Cemetery at Mons, Belgium, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War

Harry read a moving passage from the letter sent by Private Michael Lennon, of 1st Battalion the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Dated May 30 1915 - it was written to his brother Frank, the day before he was due to land in Gallipoli

But Lennon never saw Dublin again. He was killed in action almost exactly one month later.

The ceremony was held in the only First World War cemetery to honour the fallen from both sides, St Symphorien military cemetery near Mons.

Historian Dan Snow narrated as a series of readings and poetry were delivered to honour the fallen from British, Irish, Commonwealth and German forces.

He said: 'One hundred years ago today – on the 4th August 1914 – Britain and Germany were at war.

'Now, a century later, we gather in peace to commemorate this anniversary, and to remember the cost of war.' 

The actor Eddie Redmayne - star of Les Miserables and Birdsong - read from A Shropshire Lad and choirs from Britian and Germany together sang 'They Shall Not Grow Old'

The Band of the Coldstream Guards and German drummersplayed as the actor, who played a First World War soldier in an adaptation of Sebastian Faulks's novel Birdsong, read from AE Housman's A Shropshire Lad

The actor Eddie Redmayne - star of Les Miserables and Birdsong - read from A Shropshire Lad and choirs from Britian and Germany together sang 'They Shall Not Grow Old'.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and Prime Minister David Cameron stood shoulder to shoulder with counterparts from countries including France and Germany.

Mr Cameron said the Great War, which claimed millions of lives, including 750,000 from the British and Commonwealth, was 'unlike any other'.

In front of 500 guests, including German president Joachim Gauck, Irish President Michael D Higgins and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Mr Cameron said: 'Every war is cruel.

'But this war was unlike any other. The unspeakable carnage, the unbearable loss, the almost unbelievable bravery.'

Bowing her head: The Duchess of Cambridge during a ceremony at the St Symphorien Cemetery in Belgium

Prince Harry, Belgium's Queen Mathilde, the Duchess of Cambridge Belgium's King Philippe, Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William in Mons, Belgium

Commemoration: The Duke of Cambridge (centre) and David Cameron (second right) at the ceremony at St Symphorien Cemetery in Mons, Belgium

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, , accompanied by Dean of Westminster the Reverend John Hall, right, walks by the tomb of unknown warriors as she attends a candlelit vigil and prayer service to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War at Westminster Abbey

The duchess of Cornwall, second left, extinguishes the remaining flame at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior

Camilla sits in reflection as she attends the ceremony. In one of her most significant public engagements to date, the Duchess of Cornwall attended the vigil at Westminster Abbey

Performances were heard from a children's choir conducted by Gareth Malone, as well as a recording of a collaboration between the London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

As the ceremony closed,  William, King Philippe of Belgium, Mr Cameron, and the German and Irish presidents laid flowers at the obelisk.

The Last Post was sounded, followed by a minute's silence and the reveille, then a lone piper played, after which each of the dignitaries placed a lantern on the obelisk.

St Symphorien is where 229 Commonwealth and 284 German troops are buried, including the first and last British soldiers to die on the Western Front, and the recipient of the first VC of the war.

Within weeks of Britain declaring war on Germany, the two nations' forces clashed outside Mons, leading to some 1,600 British casualties and 2,000 German.

The land at St Symphorien was gifted to the German army by a Belgian landowner, with the proviso that both sides be treated with equal respect.