NOT FORGOTTEN
Six WW1 Biographies
As part of a project to provide a WW1 history presentation for schools, on the war and the British soldiers who fought it, I have acquired examples of the three most common medals of WW1, ( A 1914-15 star, A British War Medal and a Victory Medal, known to old soldiers as "Pip, Squeak & Wilfred"). These are campaign medals and were awarded to soldiers who served at various times during the war, whether they lived or died. I also have the memorial plaque sent to the family of a soldier who was killed. It is my intention to fully research these four soldiers and put the results on these pages. Additionally I have details of three other soldiers, the Williamson brothers, who are known to me only by a chance purchase of WW1 postcards; and Donald Porteous, who I found while researching my own family history.
The sad line of immaculately kept war cemeteries which mark the course of the war on the Western Front sometimes give the idea that almost all who served died. In fact about 1 in 10 servicemen paid the ultimate price during WW1. Just over 7 million men from Great Britain and Ireland served in WW1 and just over 704,000 of them died during the war. In the Army the bulk of casualties were sustained among the Infantry and Royal Artillery.
Soldiers from a Fusiliers Regt at a training camp - Each has his own story waiting to be told.
