EIGHT bells set for a Belgian church, which was built to commemorate 500,000 British & Commonwealth troops killed in World War One, will be exhibited at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

The bells, cast for St George's Memorial Church, Ypres, will form part of the steam fair's Great War display.

After going on display at the Dorset showground, the bells - cast by the Loughborough bell foundry John Taylor & Co - will be delivered to Ypres and hung in the church tower.

St George's Memorial Church was built to commemorate Allied troops killed in the three battles of the Ypres Salient during the First World War.

The third of these battles, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, was one of the bloodiest of the war. Half a million Allied and German soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing in three months of fighting.

At the end of July The Prince of Wales spoke of the "courage and bravery" of British soldiers killed in at Passchendaele, as he led centenary commemorations of the battle at Tyne Cot cemetery near Ypres.

He was joined by other dignitaries, including Theresa May, the King and Queen of Belgium, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and some 4,000 descendants of those who fought

Great Dorset Steam Fair managing director Martin Oliver said: "On behalf of everyone at the steam fair, we are truly honoured that the trustees of the new bells have kindly agreed to allow the bells to attend this year's show on route to St George's Memorial Church in Ypres.

"As part of the agreement, the Great Dorset Steam Fair is extremely proud to announce that we will be sponsoring the road transport costs from Loughborough, down to the steam fair at Tarrant Hinton, and then onto Ypres.

"To have the new bells attend this year's show, as the 100th anniversary commemorations of the battle continue in Belgium, will be very humbling and poignant."

Each bell has a poppy motif cast around the shoulder.

The Great Dorset Steam Fair takes place at Tarrant Hinton from August 24-28.