To commemorate the centenary of WW1, an exhibition is being held in West Moors Library until the end of August. It is the result of a combined effort of the three schools in West Moors and the Parish Council. The schools have each completed their own interpretation and theme, while the Parish Council has produced a population and geographical profile of the village during the WW1 period.
Over 1700 hours of research has been carried out including the scrutiny of all the National Census data from 1841 to 1911; parish (civil and ecclesiastical) records; Births, Deaths and Marriages records; Wills and Probate records; Military and World War 1 records; St Mary’s First School log books; electoral registers; jury lists; trade and professional directories and various newspapers and journals. There have also been discussions with local residents about their ancestors.
This has resulted in a list of 1095 names, the households they belonged to and, for the vast majority, in what road they lived and for many the name/number of their home (some of which are still to be seen today).
For the first time, at least since the end of the First World War, the full details of the fallen, who for most people are currently merely names on the memorial, have been documented. Also for the first time is documented all the West Moors residents who served in the military during the conflict and survived.
The intention is that at some point, the result of all the research will go on-line for all to see.
