WW1 Centenary: What will you be doing by way of remembrance?

The Great War:

http://archive.org/search.php?query=Great%20War%20Illustrated

 

Have been doing a bit of research on my Great Grandfather (Dorsets) and Great Grandmother (WRAF) already but will have a lot more to do. I have found the Long, long trail website and GWF site quite useful, but I had stumbled across most of what they suggested already.

I hope it does spark some interest. I appreciate that a lot of people are not into historical research but these figures are fairly shocking. You would think most people would remember this stuff from school.

http://www.1914.org/news/research-shows-work-still-to-be-done-to-raise-awareness-about-first-world-war/

The only commemoration trip I plan on doing next year will be for 70th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem and I do not know if there will be much going on for WW1 commemorations over here.

 

I'm working with a mate - Martin Malone, who is a published poet http://martinmalone.org/ (end of shameless plug) and doing his PhD about heroism in WW1. He's been commissioned to write a series of poems about his home town, Hartlepool and we're hoping to come up with a film or some kind of visual narrative about the bombardment of Hartlepool in 1914. The university I work at is collaborating with the Museum of Labour History in Manchester on a commemoration - but no idea what shape that will take yet.

I've worked on a few TV programmes about WW1 including a trip to Gallipoli, which was amazing, but that's work and I never really had enough time to appreciate the surroundings. I took a trip to Ypres twelve years ago with a good friend and went to see where my Grandfather had lost his leg in Third Ypres/Passchendaele. He'd enlisted in August 1914 and already been to Gallipoli, been invalided out with dysentery and returned to the Somme with 189 Artillery Brigade where he was gassed, returning to active service just in time to be wounded in September 1917. He was honourably discharged and ended up as a toilet attendant and small time rogue the rest of his life -he lived until his eighties and was eventually knocked down on a zebra crossing. I walked the Somme for a week with the same mate a couple of years ago - it was very wet but that serves us right as we always go near my birthday in November rather than his in July. Might have to revise that in the future but not sure about doing anything next year in the way of trips as everything will be chocker and prices will rocket.

 

I recently started researching my Great Uncle, Ernest Clements who was killed in the last few weeks of WW1.
He is commemorated on the Goole memorial and I shall be going to pay my respects, and I will also remember all the fallen who came from Goole.

I have already posted his story in the prewar section
http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/48555-ernest-clements-my-great-uncle/?hl=%2Bernest+%2Bclements


Lesley

 

As some of you know I have researched Cockermouth cemetery and also Cockermouth war memorial, out of 132 casualty's on the memorial there is only 7 I have been unable to find which I am pleased with.
I have also researched my Great Granda Herbert and thanks to members on this forum I have found out quite a lot on Herbert which I am really grateful.
Also Herbert's brother's John and Sidney.
Also my mam's granda but he didn't serve abroad and was discharged.

Michael.

 

Deacs - 125 hits out of 132 is a pretty good score. Makes "we will remember them..." mean something.

 

I'll not be doing anything other than what I already do whenever it seems appropriate to do so. That is, to talk about my Dad fighting with the Royal Leicestershire Regiment, 'The Tigers' in World War 1. About the horror of a mustard gas attack he survived, but which left him with damaged lungs for the rest of his life. War poet Wilfred Owen's writings vividly paint a picture of the horrors of the war my Father and millions of others experienced. We will remember them.

 

I'll carry on transcribing and publishing the trials of the 346 men who were shot at dawn between 1914-1918.

http://blindfoldandalone.wordpress.com/

I'm in France from next Friday on the Leger SaD tour. Promises to be a fascinating experience.

 

Dear Friends
I am researching World War 1 history in connection with a project related to the men who died from Borrowdale in Cumbria; or as it was then Cumbeland.
I am an artist and scriptwriter and I belong to a group known as the North Cumbria Script Writers.

My initial interest related to the small WW1 memorial set in the wall at Stonethwaite; and in particular the name P. Zanazzi which intrigued me, and thus began a journey that has grown over the past three years, and now includes all of those brave men who gave their lives from the valley of Borrowdale.

We are now planning a number of dramatic presentations and plays that will serve as reminders to a very important part of our history.
I would very much welcome any comments and input into this venture.
Kevin.

 

Well!

While researching RAAF archives at Point Cook near Melbourne (The birthplace of the Australian Flying Corps) I came across a little 50mm x 75mm newspaper cutting of a young cadet who lost his life there in 1917.

This cadet was flying solo in one of the four "new" Maurice Farman Shorthorn aircraft used for training from 1917-1919.

As I collected the names of all the Australians who were killed in the AFC, RFC, RNAS and RAF during WW1 and the photos of their heastones, (similar to my WW2 project), I thought I would add this name to my database. This is where the research became interesting!!!!!!!!

This young man was listed as the first Military Flyer Training Death in Australia however:

He was not listed on the Australian First World War Nominal Roll!
He was not listed on the Australian War Memorial!
Therefore, he was not listed on the CWGC database.

Even the wonderful people at the Australian War Memorial were not able to assist as there was no record of him ever enlisting!

My research found the he was with the AGA and given a huge funeral in his hometown of Sydney with full military honours attended by a myriad of Military officers and public figures.

After making at least 100 phone calls to his surname in Sydney I finally contacted his 85 year old nephew who was born a few years after his "uncle" died and was also named after him. He kindly rummaged through all his photos and he sent me what I believe is the only "official" professional photo of him in uniform.

I purchased his death certificate and with all the other information tried again to no effect.

There was only one more avenue available to me - The "In from the Cold project" in the UK to whom I provided all of this information and who pushed for his inclusion.

While taking nearly three years, he was finally accepted for inclusion in August last year which was wonderful news.

I then contacted the RAAF and they have agreed to honour this lad with a plaque at the base museum during the commemorations next year.

When the date of the dedication is received, I will be there and hope to have some relatives present.

Results like this give you a warm feeling. His two elder brothers, one of which was gassed and returned to duty, both survived the horrors of war in France, yet their younger brother was killed on home soil.


Cheers

Geoff

 

Surely without Terry Denham and his group at IFCP, I would still be trying and not getting anywhere.

 

All four of my Great Grandfather's served and survived WW1. One of them, Corporal George Fogden was awarded a Miltiary medal and bar for his efforts with the 9th Rifle Brigade.

On a more straight forward note, when ever I recall the incredible horrors of that war, I usually go to my desk drawer and pull out a couple of simple Victory medals which I possess. This focuses the mind on how much those men went through back then for what must have seemed so little reason.

 

I've put a couple of websites up for the Centenary period.

http://www.greatwarphotos.com/

http://www.ww1centenary.net/

I wanted to do something for the centenary where genuinely new material was put up and it didn't cost people anything to see it; which is why I started the Great War Photos website. I hope it might prompt a few others with big collections of unpublished images, and I know there are a few, to do something similar. It's never been easier with things like Twitter and Wordpress.

Otherwise I'm looking forward to guiding a new tour I've worked on which covers the entire length of the old Western Front; from Belgian beach to Swiss border.

 

As a new member of the newest branch (I think) of the RBL in our locality, and having been volunteered onto the committee! I was asked if I would help to assist the three local parishes with sorting out a suitable way to commemorate/remember etc the 100th Anniversary. Well let's just say it is going to be a challenge, 2 of the 3 councils well up for it, one apparently does not want anything to do with the planning but will take part!!!

Anyway lots of ideas have been thrown about, I have sent a fair few emails but think it might be a hard process to decide what exactly we will do as a Community!

Hopefully will have an informal meeting about it second week in September and then make some progress I hope!

We have three War Memorials within the three parishes, one of which also commemorates those who served and survived. 115 dead commemorated with another 79 survivors, of the dead I am not sure what percentage I have identified but there are too many to be researched before next year...

There is also money available for certain projects from the Heritage Lottery Fund, anything from £3000 upwards!! so if we get a really good idea then maybe we can try and get some funding.

If anyone has any ideas that I can take forward please can you either put them on this thread or PM/Email me

Thanks

Andy

(Retired) but seem to be doing more now that when I was working! :biggrin:

 

I have arranged with the local Ministers and Schools to have the local children plant 20, 000 Flanders Poppies seeds all over the village with a view to them appearing next August.

Aye
MalcolmII

 

Planning to get back to doing a lot more cemetery 'work' (assisting with requests for photos and other investigations), going in the Aussie ballot for attendance at the Gallipoli service, going on Paul's tour, and reading a whole lot more.

Well done Geoff. Excellent outcome..
Judy

 

I am looking for my relations who were killed or survived the war on both sides of the family so i can pay respect to them.

Also locally im spreading poppy seeds but im also making cards to go on the graves of every ww1 person who has a war grave in the local cemetarys to thank them for there sacrafice. Im unsure how its going to look but ill be putting them on there graves on the date that they died over the next few years. So each one is shown to not be forgotton. I will be going to plant poppys on them this year too, to make sure theres a sea of poppys.

Wish it was easier to research the family tree to findout those that served..

 

Knees permitting, I shall be attending the Annual Commemoration Service in Whitehall in November where both World Wars are remembered and marching past the Cenotaph on our way to Horse Guards Parade.

I sometimes have to remind myself that I was born only 5 years after the end of the Great War, as it was then known, and yet have only one memory of that terrible episode, namely seeing the small groups of ex-service musicians begging in the streets.

Ron