With the centenary of the beginning of the Great War it will herald remembrance of the sacrifices people throughout Britain made for their country. War memorials list the names of ordinary people who sacrificed their life.
But where are the graves of these brave young men?. Very few of the people on the war memorial returned. Their mortal remains are buried throughout Europe and even further.
In South Yorkshire, in the villages of Conisbrough and Denabywe are launching a unique project to honourour local heroes in the places where they lie.
Jim Beachill, from the Conisbrough & Denaby Local History Group explains; “We have researched the stories and graves of 100 heroes from Conisbrough and Denaby who provided the ultimate sacrifice. Of these only 4 are buried in England. The rest are scattered in 73 different cemeteries, through 9 different countries in Europe and Asia.”
One of our supporters, Sarah Smith, a young Conisbrough resident and her partner Craig have accepted the challenge to place a tribute on each of the 100 graves. This will begin in Auguist 2014.”
Sarah says “Our story is quite simple; we are WW1 ‘enthusiasts’ I suppose you could say in the fact that we are very passionate about the topic and the fact that the men who fought for our liberty should be remembered. We know that many of the men who are out there get no visitors either because there’s no-one left to mourn them or there’s no one able to go. So, we decided that as they were men from our village, we would remember them.”
The tribute will show a photograph, a report of their demise, medals they won, their regimental badgeand any other information that can be found. The list is not exhaustive and may be added to.
Sarah and Craig´s limitations are time and money so assistance from other people will be welcomed
The project was launched on Saturday 19th July at the Conisbrough Library when the tributes were displayed
Conisbrough and Denaby 100 Project
Through the duration of the project a duplicate copy will be maintained at Denaby Parish Church and marked as each tribute is laid.
The progress of the venture can be seen on the Conisbrough & Denaby Local History Website and on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/conisbrough100