Project Description
The aim of this project was to inform the local community, and others with an interest, of the contribution made by the people of Sampford Peverell to the First World War and how this affected their lives. Our secondary aims included adding missing names to the Memorial Plaque located within the local church, producing a book about the village during the conflict, collating information about local participants onto a dedicated website, and involving as many from the village as possible in various commemorative activities. The project received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The whole initiative involved various local organisations, including the church and chapel, the village school, a branch of the Royal British Legion, along with various clubs and societies from across the village. Residents were involved in both preparations and participation, including creative activities where older residents made a poppy quilt and children made felt poppies. We took part in a procession to witness a beacon lighting on a local hill. Exhibitions were also set up in the village hall and church, which additionally held a commemorative performance and a party event. We installed poppies around the village at each house or location where a wartime individual had lived, with a map produced so that people could walk around to discover and learn about these 125 different stories. This Poppy Trail was extremely popular, particularly as a point of discussion amongst local people. A film of our commemorative activities is available on Youtube (https://youtu.be/Gio0Yb0E_1g).
Organisation
Organised by
Sampford Peverell Society
Region
South West England
Location
EX16 7BS
Event
Date
2018-11-05, 2018-11-16
Venue
Sampford Peverell, Devon
Location
EX16 7BJ
Focus and Research
Resources used for research
All the links below, plus photos and reminiscences from descendants of those who took part in the First World War; Grave/cemetery information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission; any promotions or awards mentioned in the London Gazette (www.thegazette.co.uk); information about units, ships and battles from 'The Long Long Trail' website (www.longlongtrail.co.uk); IWM's Lives of the First World War database (https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/) including their list of Conscientious Objectors (https://search.livesofthefirstworldwar.org/search/world-records/conscientious-objectors-register-1914-1918); IWM's wartime photograph collection (http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections-research/about/photographs); BBC history on World War One (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1); Trade directories/land tax records/photos/Parish Registry information (births, marriages, burials) from the Sampford Peverell Society website (http://www.sampevsoc.co.uk); The Children's Society for information on the St Boniface Home boys (http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk); Births, marriages and deaths on FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk); Tiverton Museum's collection of newspapers, including the Devon and Somerset News; Medal cards/service records/Family Tree information/Emigration and Immigration records sourced from Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.co.uk); Medal information/other service records/Absent Voters Electoral Lists on Findmypast (http://www.findmypast.co.uk); Unit war diaries from the National Archives (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-war-diaries-1914-1922/); Casualty lists of all killed and wounded on 'www.thegenealogist.co.uk'; Wartime hospital records (https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk); Emigration/Immigration records and Census data (age, family, places of birth and residence) and birth, marriage and death information from either ancestry.co.uk or findmypast.co.uk (links as above); Newspaper articles from www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk; contextual information sourced via Google.