Quest to reveal soldiers' identities
KEEN South Creake amateur historian, Barbara Allen, is involved in a race against time to complete a picture of everyone who left the village to fight in the First World War.
Not only is everyone directly involved in her research now dead, but so are most of their immediate descendants.
Mrs Allen is trying to complete the list, together with individual biographies, of all those who left the village to go to the 1914 – 1918 Great War.
“It’s the last chance to pull together the information that will soon be lost for ever,” said Mrs Allen.
She is attempting to marry together the names of the 113 residents, who volunteered or were conscripted, to photographs which exist of all but 13 of them. Yet after two years of trawling through records, for some she still only has a surname and initial.
Only 22 of the names have been matched to the right photographs, so there is still a long way to go.
“I have suggested names for some of the others, but I need confirmation and, to make it even more difficult, we don’t even know which 13 have no photograph. Linking names to photographs is my priority at present.”
What is known is that 26 died but, surprisingly, her research has revealed that photos of those who survived are harder to trace.
“The research should have been done long ago when more members of the families concerned were still alive. It is so much more difficult now, but I am still hoping that we might find the missing photographs.”
A decision to sell a building known as the War Memorial Institute prompted the challenge. The Institute was opened in 1921 to commemorate those who took part in the First World War and the walls were adorned with old photographs. Unfortunately, their names were not on the backs.
Local craftsman Nick Haywood cleaned and restored the frames and professional photographer and framer, Deidre Grierson, cleaned and reassembled the photographs and they hang in St Mary’s parish church.
Mrs Allen has been filling a book with details of those who fought, and it has already thrown up surprises: “For instance five Clements went to war and five came back, but nine Georges went and only four came back showing the lottery of war,” she said.
She hopes there are still undiscovered photographs and snippets of information which could still come to light.
Her research is currently on display for all to see in the church alongside the photographs, and she would welcome any information.
When the War Memorial Institute is sold, the plan is for the proceeds to be used to build a memorial pavilion on the village playing fields. Barbara Allen can be contacted by telephone, 01328 823269, or by email morleysfarm@btconnect.com
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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