World War One Biographies

On the staircase at The Barlow are 144 photos of local men who went to the war. During renovations of The Barlow many years ago the photos were rescued from a skip through the foresight of local resident, Mick Williams. These photos created the interest which sparked the research project.

Which Soldiers were Researched?

From the original 144 photos, the list grew dramatically. 350 names were researched, with another 31 known names with no further information. 102 men were killed, including 28 associated with the National Children’s Home and Orphanage, which is situated just outside the village.

The Biographies

A biography has been prepared for each soldier and includes information about his family and siblings who also fought. Although many records were destroyed in World War 2, a significant proportion of the soldiers did have service records and the results are in the following pages. Sometimes there were real puzzles – what links a man who appears on the St. Anne’s War Memorial with someone who was living in Fleetwood in 1911? Why is a man commemorated on the Methodist memorial, also commemorated in Bromley in Kent? The information came from far and wide, including Canada and Seattle.

If you have any further information about the men shown in these biographies, we would be pleased to hear from you so that we can amend and add to the information on the website.

Research into the histories of soldiers who fought in the war is coordinated by Linda Spencer who can be contacted on lespncr@aol.com or 07779 060 962.