Soldiers in sand on beaches at Weymouth and Lyme Regis for Danny Boyle's WW1 centenary tribute

The face of Private Stanley McDougall will be etched onto the shore at Weymouth Beach while Rifleman Kulbir Thapa will appear in the sand at Lyme Regis.

Pte McDougall, who served with the Australian infantry, has been chosen to represent Weymouth's ANZAC links.

Both recipients of the Victoria Cross for their actions during the Great War, they were selected by renowned director Danny Boyle for his nationwide gesture of remembrance, Pages of the Sea.

Weymouth and Lyme are among 32 beaches in the UK and Ireland where large-scale sand portraits of casualties of the First World War will appear before being washed away as the tide comes in.

The public is invited to assemble at the beaches on Sunday, November 11 (Weymouth from 12.30pm and Lyme from 11am) and join in by creating silhouettes of people in the sand, remembering the millions of lives lost or changed forever by the conflict.

The sand portraits, designed by artists Sand In Your Eye, feature a selection of men and women, many of whom died in active service. They have been chosen as a representation of the range of individuals, regions and international communities that were part of the war.

Danny Boyle said that his original instinct was that this was a “line in the sand, the final goodbye”, as “the nation moves on”.

“But I have changed, I have to say, in doing the research. I think we should go on commemorating it…

“When you make that personal connection… it feels timeless.

“I felt that connection to them and it felt it would be wrong to forget them.”

The work is commissioned and produced by 14-18 NOW, and is the culmination of the five-year programme of arts commissions marking the centenary.

Dorset events are also funded by local councils with additional support from the Arts Development Company.

Poet Carol Ann Duffy has been invited to write a new poem, which will be read as people gather on the beaches.

Copies of the poem will be available at the beaches.

The public can also explore an online gallery of portraits of some of the men and women who served in the First World War, and select someone to say a personal goodbye to either via social media or as they gather in person on beaches.

The images are drawn from the Imperial War Museum’s Lives Of the First World War, which aims to tell eight million stories of those who served from Britain and the Commonwealth.

Visitors to the website can also add portraits of members of their family or community who contributed to the First World War.

Primary schools will receive free learning resources to support the artistic commission.

For more information visit www.pagesofthesea.org.uk

Weymouth Beach

Pte Stanley Robert McDougall (1890-1968). Won V.C. for single-handedly repulsing German attack

Born in Tasmania, McDougall enlisted in 1915, joining the 47th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force and was sent to the Western Front. In March 1918 at Dernancourt, McDougall, then a sergeant, repulsed a German attack that had breached the allied lines. Single-handed, he charged the enemy's second wave with rifle and bayonet, killing seven and capturing a machine-gun. He fired on others until his ammunition ran out, after which he seized a bayonet and killed four more. He then used a Lewis gun on the enemy, killing others and enabling his comrades to capture 33 prisoners. Eight days later, at the same place, this non-commissioned officer won the Military Medal for taking over his platoon when its commander was killed. After the war became an officer with the Tasmanian Forestry Department, performing outstanding work fighting bushfires.

McDougall was among more than 120,000 ANZACS who passed through Weymouth between 1915-19. The area was chosen as the base for the ANZACS to convalesce, with four camps set up in Chickerell, Westham, Littlemoor and Portland. 87 troops are buried in Melcombe Regis Cemetery.

Lyme Regis

Rifleman Kulbir Thapa (1889-1956)

Kulbir Thapa made history as the first Gurkha to win a Victoria Cross. He was born in the village of Nigalpani, Palpa, Nepal, and in 1907 enlisted in the Indian Army as part of Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles, transferring to 2nd Battalion at the outbreak of war. During operations against German trenches south of Mauquissart in 1915, he found a badly wounded soldier of the 2nd Leicestershire Regiment behind the first German trench. Although wounded himself and urged by the English soldier to save his own skin, Kulbir stayed with him all day and night.

Early the next morning, in misty conditions, he brought the soldier out through the German wire and having left him in a place of comparative safety, returned and brought back two wounded Gurkhas to the allied lines, one after the other. He then returned in broad daylight to bring back the British soldier, carrying him most of the way under enemy fire. Kulbir himself was admitted to hospital for his wounds and he rejoined his unit in Egypt in 1916. His medal is on display at the Gurkha Museum, Winchester, Hampshire, and in 2015 he was commemorated on a Royal Mail stamp

The highly regarded Brigade of Gurkhas have been supporting the British Army for over 200 years, including two world wars through to modern conflict. During the First World War, more than 90,000 Gurkhas enlisted, fighting across Asia, Middle East and Europe where more than 6,000 died in action. The Gurkhas gained a reputation for valour earning thousands of medals for gallantry. Today, they continue to be part of the British Army including signals, logistics and engineers, with units based across the south of England.