In support of a new Great War memorial for a village.

[CommanderChuff]

Gentlemen and Ladies,

During the course of a conversation with a church warden it has become apparent that the village of Rendcomb in Gloucestershire does not have a memorial for the casualties of the 1914-1919 war.  There are WW2 memorials in the college and in St James church for the students and parishioners but the memorials for the earlier war were not created in its aftermath.  The reason given is that the college was being established during that time and the moment of remembrance was over before the situation could be addressed.

Following my encouragement, the church has decided to review this matter.  There is a list of names available, and they would like to check the contents against an official source.   From my knowledge of this field, which is limited to researching the history of individuals, I hope that there is a simpler method of verifying the causality list of this village.  

For background information, I am a volunteer with the IWM and have been working with the War Memorials Register team for 4 and 1/2 years. During this time, I have cycled around the Midlands area making a survey of the war memorials and taking photographs for the online register.  I am quite proud to say that after 6,000 miles, nearly 1,000 locations and 20,000 images, it has been an enjoyable and worthwhile experience.  Particularly as I am now helping the local communities on these two new memorials and another two at a different church.

Thank you for any guidance,

David,

[RussT]

There are quite a few sources now that have been digitised, some of which contain information as to a person's origin e.g. place of birth, residence, enlistment, death, NoK etc. These can be combined where possible to confirm or otherwise whether an individual came from or lived in a certain place.

Feel free to post any names to seek assistance in helping to verify an individual - this Forum is full of experts well versed in this type of activity - there are many members here who have researched numerous memorials.

Regards

Russ

[Alan24]

Using 'Additional Information' on CWGC throws up two names.

You would need to verify that they have connection to your village using all the usual tools available on family history websites.

CWCG Two Names

Edited 5 November , 2022 by Alan24

[David26]

David,

that sounds like an excellent initiative.  Have you discovered this very helpful set of information from Glos Archives?

https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/working-with-us/partnership-projects/gloucestershire-remembers-ww1/help-with-your-research-into-ww1/information-sheets-about-gloucestershire-in-ww1-compiled-by-other-researchers/

There is also the Gloucestershire Archives Online Catalogue: http://ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk/CalmView/Default.aspx?

And out of interest, what criteria are being used for the memorial?  Do they have to have lived in the village, or just had a connection to it.  And will it commemorate all who served, or the ones who died?  (I ask because, for example, a very quick search of the online catalogue shows that a pamphlet called "Chedworth remembers the Great War 1914 - 1918" includes a photo of 48 Sqn RFC taken at Rendcomb airfield and one of the men in the photo is the celebrated pilot William Leefe Robinson VC).

David. 

[CommanderChuff]

Thank you for the most excellent information.  The CWGC database is well known and that will be good starting point.  The Gloucester archives has some great guides and data although nothing has been found yet when searching for the village name.   The church warden is setting out to determine who is eligible for inclusion and the info on Leefe Robinson is a great piece of history.

And thank you for the offer of help in case of difficulties, it really is most appreciated, 

David.

[museumtom]

Lots of things to consider.

Things to remember when compiling a Roll of Honour, War Dead Monument, or Memorial Wall.
Gather and supply all the townlands in the area proposed.
If the village, Town or Parish crosses the county line, establish if you wish to include the locations in the other county in your project.

Are the locations you intend to include lie in the same Parish as they were during WW1?
Establish how far you wish to go outside the different townlands, and put it down on paper.
Decide what your criteria for inclusion are. Criteria used in the past include.
(1) Born in that area.
(2) Lived in that area.
(3) Buried in that area.
(4) Next of kin lived or were born in that area.
(5) Will you include those who died  between August 6,1914 to 31 August 31st, 1921 after serving during the war from an illness or wounds that would not be acceptable by the In From The Cold Project? I.E. those who were rejected.
Decide the cut-off date for inclusion in your project (C.W.G.C. cut off date is 31/08/1921).
Decide if you wish to include those who survived the war.

Kind regards.
Tom.

[rolt968]

A couple of odd points:

I strongly recommend searching the local newspapers for the period. (You will avoid the situation with one war memorial researched where the newpaper report of the death of chronologically the first casualty commemorated on the war memorial is something like "Second xxx (village name) postman killed..." i.e. the first postman killed is not on the war memorial.)

I would suggest looking at the local casualties you find before you decide on the cut off date. In the case of war memorials created post WW1 this was often decided by the date of setting up the memorial. I know that in some cases names were added later. It would be a pity to miss off someone who clearly died as a result of his /her service in the mid/ late 1920s (ot later?)

RM

 

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

Also look at any local men who died whilst serving in Dominion forces.

.....and don't forget to leave a large space at the bottom of the panel for adding those names that will invariably be missed this time round, despite the most meticulous research.

[RussT]

 

 

[John(txic)]

If you're a member of the WFA you will find the Pension Records to be an excellent resource.

 

Also, bear in mind the NoK data on the CWGC website was collated when they sent out the forms to NoK in the early '20s: populations seemed to be more mobile then, and the address on the CWGC records is not guaranteed to be where they lived in 1914.

[keithmroberts]

1 hour ago, John(txic) said:

Also, bear in mind the NoK data on the CWGC website was collated when they sent out the forms to NoK in the early '20s: populations seemed to be more mobile then, and the address on the CWGC records is not guaranteed to be where they lived in 1914.

or even where their families or spouses lived at any time during the war. For a considerable majority the CWGC address will be in the general vicinity, but in many urban areas an awful lot of ordinary people were renting, and families sometimes moved a fair way just as a result of a change of employment. If parish magazines were produced and have survived they can be very helpful, as well as a scan of local newspapers. Depending on the size of the village there could be small memorials related to other denominations as well as schools. All are worth at least looking out for.

Good luck with your work.

[PaulC78]

I've searched the pension cards on Fold3 for Rendcomb and two names came up:

Albert Brading 8183 Gloucestershire Regt. KIA 16 Sep 1914

Harold E Gawthorne M2/149498 RASC, died 10 Apr 1919 (tb lungs, post discharge)