Around 200 people, including some ladies, were directly involved with the war effort and we have identified more casualties than are remembered on the Southrepps War Memorial at St. James’ Church.
The list of names below includes any individuals with a connection to Southrepps so it includes those born in the village, those living in the village during the war or those having a family connection.
We also wanted to record the lives of those who returned but that was more difficult. This is mainly due to about 60% of the Great War soldiers’ service records being lost in the Arnside Street fire of September 1940 during the London Blitz.
The surviving records from the fire are known as the ‘burnt’ records due to their charred appearance but fortunately they are supplemented by records from the Ministry of Pensions. The loss of these vital records means that it is not possible to identify every soldier from Southrepps who enlisted or returned from the Great War. If a soldier returned unscathed then it is quite difficult to find their service history from the remaining records.
So where has the information come from? Ancestry.com has been a great source for our research – Census, military records including enlistment, medal cards, baptisms, marriages, burials, electoral rolls, war diaries etc. The Norfolk Regimental Museum has also provided assistance.
Recruitment Poster (Imperial War Museum)
Click on the names below to read about them. Names in bold were war casualties. Names in italics were ladies of the Red Cross VAD’s.
To see which regiments and units they served in, click here.
To read about the Great War medals and awards, click here.
