Ashdown Forest Men who Fell in the First World War

This project involved writing case studies of all those men who died while on military service during the First World War, and whose names are commemorated by the war memorials at Forest Row, Hartfield and Coleman's Hatch, East Sussex. These villages all have strong historical connections to Ashdown Forest. The case studies - 113 in total - detail the family, community and socio-economic backgrounds of each man, the key features of their military service during the war, the circumstances of their deaths, and the factors that led to their name being commemorated on one of these three local memorials. Studies were researched and written by members of the Ashdown Forest Research Group, a small group of volunteers who investigate and explore the history of the Forest and its communities (the group is supported by the Conservators of Ashdown Forest). All the studies have been published on a dedicated website. Articles were also published in local journals, along with talks given and locally-held exhibitions. The work was funded entirely from the group's existing resources. The studies are updated when new information is received or comes to light, sometimes from the relatives of those who were killed.