The Isleworth 390

This is a community-led project to remember 390 First World War servicemen listed on the Isleworth War Memorial, with a particular focus upon forging links with various partner schools to make this cross-generational. The project started in 2013, with our plan to finish in 2022 upon the centenary of the 1922 Isleworth Memorial's unveiling. The project has been funded by grants from the London Borough of Hounslow, donations from individuals and organisations and fundraising events. Our partner organisations include a number of Isleworth schools: The Blue School, The Green School for Girls, The Green School for Boys, Gumley House Convent School, Isleworth & Syon School, Isleworth Town Primary School, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Worple School & Bolder Academy. Support was received from various Isleworth churches, including St John The Baptist, All Saints Church, Our Lady of Sorrows and St Bridgets of Sweden. Hounslow Local Studies, volunteer researchers and individuals representing Royal British Legion (Isleworth Branch) also gave valuable input towards our work. Our project outputs include: an Annual Service each Remembrance Sunday with individual schoolchildren wearing the sash representing a named servicemen on the Isleworth Memorial (all 390 in 2014 and 2018, and different groups of these in the other years); two fundraising events that commemorated the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele; an illustrated lecture by Andy Robertshaw titled ‘Eye Deep in Hell’ and a musical evening by Rob Johnson; seven workshops held in schools and community venues about researching the history of the servicemen and everyday life in Isleworth during World War One; preparing curriculum units for schools and giving talks to local groups. We additionally produced a digital map showing where the Isleworth 390 servicemen lived, and published a four-hundred page hardback book, now in its third edition. We published articles in our 'Out and About' local magazine in 2015 and 2020, along with a piece in the 'Who Do You Think You' magazine in 2019. Several exhibitions were organised which ran for eighteen months, including a Memorial Wall in the West Middlesex Hospital, Isleworth. Letter drops were made to local houses where individual servicemen had lived, giving details about their background, family and life. A special book launch event was held in 2019, with a talk given by a representative from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and attended by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of London and Mayor of Hounslow. At this event, our partner schools took a pledge to continue the act of remembrance at the end of the project. Various films about the project's activities were made, including one that covered the Armistice Centenary event in 2018, which can be accessed on our website, through the link below.