We Will Remember Them

 

This coming weekend, Remembrance Sunday is observed in the United Kingdom.  At a time when we traditionally think of those who suffered through armed conflict, we can take the opportunity to learn more of their lives and their sacrifices – not all of life but of freedom, albeit temporarily, and of normality, not forgetting those who were left behind at home to cope as best they could.

This week, Ancestry is giving free access to some of their war collections up until Sunday 8 November.  Included in this are UK WW1 service, medal, and prisoner of war records, plus the 1939 Register for England & Wales, which listed everyone not on active military duty by household.  This is an invaluable tool for locating and finding out more about families and what they were doing at the outbreak of World War 2.

Donald J. MacLeod, 1915-1996

Family Tree magazine has an article from 2016 about how to identify military medals from both World Wars, as well as a link to the Ministry of Defence’s Medal Office which will allow you to apply for yours or a loved one’s awards, or replacements if required.

My own mother used this service and claimed my late father’s medals, which he had never received after being invalided out of the army while serving in North Africa.  They now hold pride of place in my home, framed alongside a photograph of him in uniform.

And a wonderful idea comes from genealogist Jane Barton, who has set up a virtual guided tour of Rutherglen Cemetery (on the outskirts of Glasgow) as an alternative to her usual personal remembrance tours.  Locations and photographs of gravestones are accompanied by detailed background information about their occupants, with clearly a lot of research having gone into this project. 

Leslie Barrie / Rutherglen Cemetery / CC BY-SA 2.0