The World War One commemorations that have taken place across the world since 2014 are all about centenaries. Most are about great battles and campaigns but within these events are the centenaries of the death of so many men.

As our project draws to a close with the book launch only days away the 19th April 2017 is a hundred years since George Fallows died as a prisoner of war.

The exact circumstances of his capture and subsequent death are not known but what we do know is that it was not until August of 1917 that his family were made aware and tragically days later his mother passed away.

His family gravestone in St Werburgh’s Churchyard bears his name and the fact he died whilst serving.

He is buried in the Cambrai East Military Cemetery in among German and Russian war dead although his section is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission along with a British Section used after the area was captured by the British.

We have yet to trace any relatives of George or source a picture of him and would be delighted to locate either.

His life story can be read HERE

Today, 9th April marks the centenary of the death of Ernest Upton. It is also the centenary of the Battle of Arras with Ernest dying in that area and is buried in a small cemetery on the outskirts of the town which gave its name to the battle.

Ernest died along with a comrade whilst repairing roads damaged by shell fire. He and his comrade were killed by an exploding shell and are buried together.

Ernest’s story can be found HERE 

Elsewhere on this site are Ernest’s  letters from the front some of which appear in our forthcoming book.

Talking of the book, the first batch of 140 copies arrived on Friday and we are extremely pleased with the end product.

The book is being released on Sunday 23rd April at Kingsley Village Hall, where we will hold an end of project event as well.

We have had 300 copies printed and we are sure they will go fast. An Ebook will be released on this site shortly after the book launch.

The beginning of March saw the delivery of our proof copy of the book, and we are delighted at how it looks. We had a busy few days checking for any mistakes or spacing issues and will have completed that piece of work by early next week (week commencing 20/3/17). We will then arrange for the book to be published in its final version. We have sufficient funds to produce 300 copies.

Of course, we would not wish to spoil the excitement by revealing too much about the book or indeed its cover. However, we can say it is called All The Kingsley Men and there is a sneak preview of its spine here.

The launch of the book will be held at Kingsley Village Hall on Sunday 23^rd April 2017. The hall will be open from 1230pm with the formal opening of the event at 1pm.

We hope there will be copies available for anyone who wishes to have one, but if demand outstrips supply then there will be a downloadable copy from the project website in due course.

Whilst the books are freely available we thought it would be an opportunity to raise some money for worthwhile causes in the parish and to that end, we will look for a small donation of £3 to be made for each copy.

As well as the book launch, we intend to have a display of some of our research, especially that relating to those men who whilst linked to the parish did not meet our criteria for inclusion in the book for various reasons.

Martin Clewlow, the grandson of James Milward who survived, will be on hand with a display of period weapons, military uniform and artifacts. Anyone who attended the launch event in 2014 will remember that Martin’s display was a great draw and is sure to be again.

Lastly, there will be a slide show running throughout the afternoon showcasing the project and the many achievements we have seen over the last three years.

We have also arranged for the Churnet Valley Living Landscape Partnership to be on hand at the event. This will give those attending an opportunity to provide your oral histories of the village and wider valley. In addition, you will have the chance to give your views on the CVLLP going forward.

There will, of course, be refreshments available throughout the event which will end by 5pm.

Everyone will be welcome to attend of course, but in the next few days or so we will be extending specific invites to relatives of the men who died as well as the many people who have kindly assisted the project team in its work.

It is hard to believe that its some three months or more since the last update on the website.

However, it is fair to say that in the background we have been really busy concluding our research whilst completing the book. On several occasions, we have uncovered more information requiring a re-write and as I type this there are still two survivors whose family is making inquiries on our behalf and trying to locate pictures.

Since the last update, which was around Remembrance Sunday, we have uncovered a further survivor in James Flanagan. His family has supplied a fantastic life story of a man who served through the war and lost a son at Dieppe in World War Two. We are grateful that they made contact with us and allowed the use of some photos of him and his service that have enriched not only his entry but the book as a whole.

Only last week we met up with two local historians and sourced photographs for the book and of Ernest Stoddard from Kingsley Moor and also the photograph of a man named William Hatton. William lived somewhere near the Bunting off Hazles Cross Road. We think he came to the village after the war but would like to hear from anyone who knows of him.

As is known the project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and a few weeks ago we found ourselves with an underspend on a couple of areas. Following consultation with the Heritage Lottery and the Parish Council, it was agreed that the money would be spent laying the hedge adjacent to the War Memorial.

We are grateful to David Clowes the landowner who agreed to the work being done and last week saw two days of hard work to lay around 15 yards of hedgerow. We are delighted with the result which has opened up the area around the memorial giving fantastic views across the Churnet Valley.

There are a couple of before and after photographs further down this page.

As regards the book we will be publishing, it comprises some 250 pages and records the lives of some 160 men and a woman. We have had a fitting cover designed by a talented photographer and graphic designer and can reveal its to be titled ‘All The Kingsley Men’. It will be launched at an event to be held at Kingsley Village Hall on Sunday 23rd April – fittingly St. Georges Day. The book was sent to the printers today and we are eager to see the draft copy early next week. We intend to produce 300 copies.

More details will be released in due course as regards the event and how anyone who wants to get a copy of the book can do so. At a later there will be a downloadable version as well.

This is the before picture.

Here is the after picture.

The project continues to make steady progress. The book is now almost complete and at the second proof stage where it will be reviewed by three of the project team to ensure everything is as we would want it to be.

The cover for the book and a provisional title are now complete and we are really pleased with what we have had designed by Andrew Nixon who also took the front cover photo.

We have continued to make fresh discoveries and have met relatives of George Buckett, Alfred Millward and the Harrison brothers from Hollins Lane.  We hope to source photo’s to include into the book.

We were thrilled to receive recently photo’s of James Henry Wildgoose all the way from America where one of his grandchildren Michael Wildgoose now lives. It is strange to see a photo of a man we have researched for a number of years and often the picture is not how he was imagined in the minds eye.

Remembrance weekend saw, as usual two moving events at the Wayside Cross on Armistice Day and at the plaques in St Werburgh’s Church on Sunday.

The Armistice saw children from StWerburgh’s school joining local residents to pay their respects to those who lost their lives whilst not forgetting those who served and returned often carrying both physical and mental scars.

Cecil Rogers who  was mentioned for the first time and a Poppy Cross placed with his name on and for the first time since we traced his family James Wildgoose was remembered as he has been since the memorial was unveiled over 90 years ago.

It should not be forgotten that there are three men buried in the Church and who died as a result of their service plus Rowland Beech senior who lies in the family crypt at the church.

Two other men are also remembered on family headstones although they lie in graves in France. Poppy Crosses were placed on these graves as well. It is hope shortly to have a Commonwealth War Graves sign at the gates to the church.

Sunday afternoon saw a small display of the projects work at the village hall where the British Legion held a lunch for the wider parishes poppy sellers and awards were made for long service. Special mention should be made of Mrs Lillian Unwin who was honoured for 60 years of poppy collecting.

A selection of images from the weekend’s events can be seen here. (To view the images in a larger size right-click the image and select to view it in your browser – may not work on all systems)

20161112_152439

20161111_110942

20161111_101619

20161111_145444

20161111_101652

20161111_101810

20161111_145727

20161111_145753

Whilst the website has been quiet of late there has been a lot going on in the background, including the book reaching the draft stage.

We have located another man who was previously unknown – E Whitehurst off the Kingsley Moor plaque. He is  in fact George Ernest Whitehurst. We have located his son and grandson and are grateful for the photographs they have supplied.

We have also located the family of two Harrison brothers from Hollins Lane whose sister married James Millward another survivor.

A great bit of news is that after  over two years’ worth of searching we have traced a grandson of James Henry Wildgoose one of the most fascinating of our subjects. He died in 1918 leaving two young sons and we are delighted to have made this breakthrough. We now have more information on how he died and are hopeful of getting to see a picture of him shortly. That research has led to another grandson living California and we are in contact wth him and are learning even more about this most fascinating of subjects.

This last month has seen two notable anniversaries with the centenaries of the deaths of   Arthur Keene and Thomas Clowes  being marked on 12th and 19th of October respectively. Arthur Keene has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in France. He is one of 4 men from the parish who died during the Battle of the Somme. We are delighted that our research has been accepted by the the Missing of the Somme Database created by Pam and Ken Ligne who have done a wonderful job of bringing the names of some of the 72,0000 men lost on the Somme and who have no known grave.

We have pictures for all of the men except George Price Bevans. We would love to trace one of him.

We have also updated the entry for William Aubrey Bowers – we are grateful to Levinson Wood Snr (father of the explorer) who has supplied us with a modern day photograph of the site where William was mortally wounded.

During the project, we have researched a number of men who ultimately don’t qualify to be included in our forthcoming book as they came to the Parish after the war. One such man is Thomas Swetnam who was born in 1897 near to Croxden. He married Elizabeth Carr in 1923 and lived on Hazles Cross and the Green, Kingsley after his marriage.

He served with the North Staffordshire Regiment and then the Lancashire Fusiliers with whom  he saw active service with the 1/8^th Battalion and 2^nd Battalion. Sadly his service record doesn’t survive  but the 2^nd Battalion saw action in France and 1/8^th at Gallipoli, Egypt and the Western Front. After the war, he gained employment at Bolton’s and had three children with Elizabeth, Audrey, Joan and Kenneth.  He died in 1968 and is buried in the cemetery at Kingsley. His son, Kenneth lives in Kingsley Holt and we are grateful that he made contact with us and supplied a great picture of his father in uniform. His cap badge is that of the Staffordshire Regiment.

Another such man is  William Spendelow who was born in Longton in 1898 and prior to the war lived in Hulme near to Werrington.  He enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery and served extensively in the war. His family have his war diary which he carried with  him during his service. Following the war, William married Emma Mills a local girl in 1929 making their home at 47 High Street Kingsley.  He died in 1960 and is buried in Kingsley Cemetery. His daughter in law, Josie Spendelow lives locally and we are grateful that she made contact with us to share William’s story. William’s son Jim Spendelow was a well know stalwart of the local British Legion.

Lastly, Remembrance is approaching and there are two acts of Remembrance in the Parish. Firstly, at 11am on the 11^th Day of the 11th month, Armistice Day is marked by an act of Remembrance at the War Memorial on Dovedale Road. The memorial is looking fantastic this year so if you have time do come to take part. On Sunday 13^th November, Remembrance Sunday is marked at St Werburgh’s Church at the plaques inside the church to those who gave their lives.

Isaac Hammond died on 31st August 1916 according to his  army Medal Card and  St Werburghs Plaque.  However, the Commonwealth War Grave Commission has his date of death as 21st August 1916 – as does the Staffordshire Regiment Museum. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

To read more about this man and his links to the Parish of Kingsley click HERE