MANY people light a candle to remember a loved one, but two women have gone one step further to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.

Angela Glynn and her sisterin- law Christine Schooley, with time to spare in their retirement, set up a scented candlemaking business.

Angela and Christine – who have links with the Royal British Legion – decided they wanted to do something to commemorate the event.

So they decided to make remembrance candles to raise money for the Royal British Legion and are selling them through the Westcliff branch of the organisation.

Angela, 61, of Dorothy Gardens, Thundersley, said: “We both love scented candles and realised how much money we were spending on them.

“Having the luxury of being at home, we thought we’d have a go at making our own and it just took off. One day we were just talking about what we could do to mark the centenary.

“We wanted to make something nice for people to have at home and perhaps appeal more to older people.”

The candles are poppy red and scented with opium oil with the design of the glass jar and black lid resembling a poppy from above.

Angela said: “The jar says 1914-1918, and has a photo of a poppy on it and underneath it simply says ‘remembrance’.”

Angela is from a family with generations of servicemen. She was in the Royal Naval Reserves and has been a member of the Legion for 60 years.

She said: “I had an uncle in the Zulu wars, he was a survivor of Rorke’s Drift. Both my parents were in the Second World War and my father’s uncle was killed in France.

“I have a relative in the Navy who was in the First World War and my first husband, who was older than me, was in the Second World War.

“I’ve been a member of the Royal British Legion for almost 60 years. This year, we thought the candle was quite fitting.”

Angela and Christine, 50, of Woodfield Park Drive, Leigh, are self-taught in the art of candle making. Angela said: “We decided to start making the candles in March.

“It’s been ever so interesting, but now we’ve got to the point when we’re quite adept at candle making and it’s such an important anniversary to mark.”

The candles cost £12, with a £2 donation to Westcliff Royal British Legion.