Military Specialist to Talk for 'Heroes of Chiswick'

William Spencer of the National Achives to discuss WW1 soldiers from the area

The National Archives' Principle Military Specialist will host a free talk at St Michael's Church on Elmwood Road, Chiswick on Saturday 11th January at 2pm.

The speaker, William Spencer, is the author of several bestselling books, including: Medals: the Researcher's Guide, Army Records, Air Force Records and Family History in the Wars, and has worked for The National Archives since 1993. 

The talk will focus on researching Chiswick's local WW1 soldiers in 2014, which will see the centenary commemorations of the outbreak of WW1. 

The talk is being organised as part of St.Michael's Sutton Court Church's 'Heroes of Chiswick' project, which aims to discover the stories of the 33 WW1 soldiers from the local Parish whose names and regiments are listed on the Church’s two commemorative pillars and stunning stained-glass windows.

All are invited to attend the free talk, and to join a series of group visits, beginning with The National Archives at Kew on 18th January to find original WW1 documents and service records for the 33 soldiers. 

All Heroes of Chiswick events are free, although places for visits may be limited: please email heroesofchiswick@gmail.com to let them know you'll be attending. 

The Heroes of Chiswick project officially began when Steve Rolling’s appointment as Project Manager was announced to the congregation by Revd. Martine Oborne at this year’s Remembrance Sunday service.

Steve Rolling: “I'm excited to start tracing these lost Heroes of Chiswick, and I'd love to involve as many local people as possible in the search for Chiswick's First World War heritage. Young and old alike, we can all play our part.”

The ‘Heroes of Chiswick’ project has been made possible by a £10,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund received through their First World War: Then and Now programme. Volunteers will receive free archive and museum visits, oral history and research training sessions, and opportunities to contribute to a new Heroes of Chiswick exhibition by collecting letters, documents, newspaper clippings, photographs and local families’ stories of the First World War.

Sue Bowers, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund London, said: “The First World War changed the face of modern history touching the lives of everyone in this country and beyond.  HLF has committed to funding a variety of projects, from organisations large and small, that will create a deeper understanding of the heritage of the conflict. Some of these will capture the memories of individual soldiers, regiments or families, some will restore local war memorials, whilst others like Heroes of Chiswick, will seek out the stories of those who gave their lives."

Anyone who is interested in the project, or who has information to share can contact: heroesofchiswick@gmail.com .

December 20, 2013