Home Local News Commemorating Preston men who fell in World War One

Commemorating Preston men who fell in World War One

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A new exhibition about the lives behind the names of fallen soldiers commemorated on a World War One memorial tablet that have been researched by volunteers has opened at the Museum of Lancashire in Preston.

The memorial, at the Lancashire Conservation Studios behind the Museum of Lancashire, previously St. Mary’s Church, recognises 80 Preston soldiers who lost their lives during the conflict.

The research has been carried out by a team of 17 volunteers as part of the Heritage Lottery funded Preston Remembers project.

County Councillor Marcus Johnstone, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for environment, planning and cultural services, said: “The names of 80 local men, known as ‘St. Mary’s Men’, are recorded on a marble tablet, just like tens of thousands of other proud Lancastrians who are remembered, and rightly honoured, across the county.

“This fabulous project has enabled a team of volunteers to research their individual stories and reveal a truly fascinating insight into how men from one small local community participated in all aspects of the war.

“Without this commitment and dedication of the volunteers, they would simply have remained as names inscribed on memorial. But now every soldier has been identified and their individual stories range from the start of the war to after the Armistice.

“The men served in 20 different regiments from engineers and artillery men to medics. They served in the navy, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force and the army, as well as the empire forces of Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

“They not only fought in the trenches of France, but also in East Africa, Gallipoli and Mesopotamia.

“They served as Privates, Gunners, Aircraftsmen, Corporals and Sergeants and, like many other ordinary men of their generation, experienced extraordinary things, well beyond what they would have normally seen in a working class area of Preston.”

Charlotte Steels, Lancashire County Council’s museum manager at the Museum of Lancashire, added: “The First World War had a devastating impact on this Preston community. Nearly everyone living in the area had a relative or friend who was killed or wounded.

“Because of the funding and the painstaking work of our volunteers, our project and exhibition will enable many people to explore and understand this tragic story which has shaped the town in which they live today.”

The exhibition runs until Thursday 31 December 2015.

An e-book with more detail of each of the soldiers will be available later in the year.

For more information about the exhibition, please phone 01772 534075 or email museumoflancashire@lancashire.gov.uk

Alternatively, visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/museums

The museum, on Stanley Street, Preston is run by Lancashire County Council.

Opening times are 10.30am to 5pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays, and 12 noon to 5pm on Sundays. The museum also opens from 10.30am to 5pm on Bank Holidays.

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