Our Project
The initial aim of our project was quite simple - we wanted to engage our boys in the Great War, give them a connection they could understand and, in time we hope, relate to.
As the boys are young our project needed to be fun, interactive and achievable. There were 8 men from Marlesford who lost their lives in the Great War, 4 lost their lives in the Somme area in France and 4 in the Flanders area in Belgium. We decided to visit each grave and place a cross on each. We made some crosses from a mighty oak tree, that had stood in Quiot Meadow in the shadow of Marlesford church, which fell in the storms in 2013. Each cross was carefully constructed and had the words 'From Marlesford' inscribed on them.
We went to all 8 cemeteries where our boys had to find the grave of the soldier and place the cross on the grave. Where there was no grave, as the soldier is commemorated on a memorial, we left the cross either in a wood by the memorial or on the grave of an unknown soldier from the same regiment in the cemetery. We have placed another cross in the church at Marlesford and we have one at home for the boys to take to school for 'show and tell'.
We hope that this project will be something that our boys remember and will give them a link with some men of the Great War.
Please follow the links below to see images of the graves we visited and our boys placing the Marlesford cross on each grave.
Harry Beeden - Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery
Charles Blakeway - Ploegsteert Memorial
Christopher Chambers - Templeux-Le-Guerard British Cemetery
James Fisk - Thiepval Memorial
Ellis Gray - Tyne Cot Memorial
James Hatcher - Albert Communal Cemetery Extension
Percy Mayhew - Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery
Arthur Stollery - Vadencourt British Cemetery
The project expanded from the simple concept above to further include;
More research of the eight men from Marlesford and others on the roll of honour,
Development of this website; and to,
Provide a place where descendants of the men, people from the village and we can document information about people from the village during the Great War.
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