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Bedfordshire
War Memorials & Rolls of Honour
These
pages are being transcribed and photographed by Bedfordshire
Family History Society and its members with help from a
few others. To learn more about the Society see their website. |
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Throughout
Bedfordshire there are various
memorials and rolls of honour dedicated to those
men and women who fell in various wars. These memorials
and rolls cover many centuries in some cases, most
World War One and Two.
During
any conflict there are certain acts of bravery or
defiance that are noticeable above others. For these
acts citations and medals have been awarded. There
is a list
of some of the Bedfordshire people who have carried
out such acts and the award or citation given. There
were seven
awards of the Victoria Cross to the Bedfordshire
Regiment during World War 1.
The
other source of information is photographs andd there
are several that have been supplied without details
- do you know who they
are?
There
is a page devoted to military
background connected to Bedfordshire on this site.
These
pages are available for transcripts of these memorials
and rolls of honour. If you have a transcription of,
or you are willing to transcribe, a Bedfordshire memorial
or roll of honour for these pages then please contact
me, the email address is below.
Current
acknowledgements for assistance with these pages must
go to Bedfordshire
Family History Society - thank you all.
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For
those of you with an interest in the World War 1 there is
The
British Army in the Great War, World
War 1 - Trenches on the Web, The
Western Front Association and The
Regimental Warpath websites. There is a site containing
a quick synopsis of the Bedfordshire
Regiment 1914-18. For
further reading when researching World War 1 relatives then
there is a book published by the Federation of Family History
Societies for family Historians entitled "World
War I Army Ancestry - Third Edition" by Norman Holding
ISBN 1 86006 056 2.
If
anybody has information for those of the Second World War,
Boer War, or the like similar to those supplied for the
First World War then I would gladly post these as well.
For more information about the BFHS project and transcribing
see 'The BFHS War Memorial
Project'.
Please
Note: Every attempt has been made to transcribe this information
accurately but there are occasions that the information
supplied is incorrect or errors occur during transcription.
We do not wish to cause offence to any families of the men
detailed here and will change the relevant information when
informed.
Also
note that places detailed on these memorials may appear
in the wrong county. This information has been transcribed
from the records given and, as the men were parochial, the
information supplied at enlistment was the view of the men
and the county they thought they resided in.
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World
War 1 & 2 - Bedfordshire Selection
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Pre-1914
- Memorial Selection |
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DONATIONS
This
site is maintained solely by volunteers and is funded by them as private
individuals. This includes the purchase of photographs, books, rolls of
honour plust the running costs of the site. We have always intended to
make this site free to all. If you have gained from this site then please
consider making a donation through PayPal by clicking on the donation
button. Thank you.
If
you would likem to donate but not on-line then cheques can be sent to:
Martin
Edwards
88 Laurel Walk
Kempston
Bedford
MK42 7NT
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World
War 1 & 2 Bedfordshire
Ampthill
| Ampthill Park
| Arlesey | Aspley
Guise | Barton | Battlesden
| Bedford All Saints | Bedford
- Bromham Road Methodist | Bedford
Cemetery | Bedford -
Corn Exchange - Glenn Miller | Bedford
- Eastern National Omnibus Company Limited | Bedford
- Embankment | Bedford
Grammar School 1914-1918 | Bedford
Modern School | Bedford
St Andrews | Bedford
St Leonards | Bedford St
Martins | Bedford St Mary's
| Bedford St Paul's
WW1| Bedford
St Paul's Methodist | Bedford
St Peter's | Bedfordshire
Police | Biddenham
| Biggleswade | Biggleswade
Cemetery | Bletsoe
| Blunham | Bolnhurst
| Bromham | Caddington
| Campton
| Cardington | Carlton
| Chalgrave | Clapham
| Clifton | Clophill
| Cockayne
Hatley | Cople
| Cotton End | Cranfield
| Dunstable | Dunstable
Downs - Robertson | Dunton
| Eaton Bray | Eaton
Bray Wesleyan | Eaton
Socon | Eggington
| Elstow Village
| Elstow Bunyan
Meeting WW1 | Elstow
Bedford County School WW1 | Elstow
FEPOW WW2 | Eversholt
| Everton | Eyeworth
| Felmersham | Flitton
| Flitwick | Gamlingay
Heath and Tetworth | Goldington
| Great Barford
| Greenfield |
Harlington | Harrold
| Haynes | Heath
& Reach | Henlow
| Henlow St Mary Churchyard
SWW | Henlow St Andrew
R.A.F. | Higham
Gobion | Houghton
Conquest |
Houghton Regis | Hulcote
| Husborne Crawley
| Kempston | Kempston,
Beds & Herts Regt Memorial | Kempston,
Cemetery | Keysoe
| Knotting | Langford
| Leagrave | Leighton
Buzzard | Leighton
Buzzard - Cedars School | Leighton
Buzzard - Beaudesert School | Leighton
Buzzard - Commercial | Leighton
Buzzard - Salvation Army | Little
Staughton | Little
Staughton - RAF | Lower
Gravenhurst | Luton (photo
only) | Luton Co-op
| Luton, George
Kent Ltd| Luton, J W
Green Ltd | Luton, Police
WW1 | Luton,
Police WW2 |
Luton, Slip End/Woodside|
Luton, Vauxhall Motors Ltd | Marston
Moreteyne | Maulden
| Melchbourne | Meppershall
| Meppershall St
Mary | Millbrook
| Milton Ernest
| Moggerhanger |
Northill Parish
| Oakley | Odell
| Old Warden | Pavenham
| Pertenhall | Podington
| Potton | Pulloxhill
| Radwell | Ravensden
| Renhold | Ridgmont
| Riseley | Roxton
| Roxton Congregational
| Salford | Sandy
| Sharnbrook | Shefford
| Shillington
| Shillington Chapel
| Silsoe | Souldrop
| Southill Parish
Hall | Stagsden
| Stanbridge | Steppingley
(St Lawrence) | Stevington
| Stewartby | Stopsley
| Stotfold | Studham
| Sundon (Village)
| Sundon (Cement Works)
| Sutton | Swineshead
| Tebworth | Tempsford,
St Peter | Tempsford
Air Crew Losses| Tetworth
| Thurleigh | Tilsworth
| Tingrith | Toddington
St George | Toddington
Village | Totternhoe
| Turvey | Upper
Dean | Upper
Gravenhurst | Upper
Stondon | Westoning
| Whipsnade | Wilden
| Willington | Wilstead
(Wilshamstead) | Wingfield
| Wootton | Wootton
Primary School Old Boys | Woburn
| Woburn Hospital
| Woburn Sands |
Wrestlingworth
| Wymington | Yelden
Pre-1914
Bedford
Boer War | Bedford
St Paul's Boer War |
Bedford St Paul's Campaigns |
Bedford St Paul's North West Frontier |
Bedford St Paul's West Indies | Cardington
R101 | Elstow
19th Century | Rawalpindi,
India - Beds Regt deaths 1891-4 |Sharnbrook
GIBBARD Memorials
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| Bedfordshire
- Searchable Databases On-Line |
| Men
Who Died from Beds, Cambs & Hunts
Boer War |
| This
database is built from the details found on the
Boer War memorials located in Bedford, Cambridge,
Ely, Huntingdon, Peterborough and St Albans.
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| Search
the database |
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| Bedfordshire
and Hertfordshire Regt - Men Who Died
World War 2 |
| This
database contains details of the men who served
in the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
and died during the Second World War. Links to
any war memorials in the United Kingdom that these
men are known to exist on are also provided plus
photographs of either the men of their graves. |
| Search
the database |
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| Bedfordshire
Yeomanry 148 Fld Regt -
Served World War 2 |
| This
database contains details of the men who served
in the Bedfordshire Yeomanry, 148th Field Regiment
and includes the 258 men who died during the Second
World War. Links to any war memorials in the United
Kingdom that these men are known to exist on are
also provided plus photographs of either the men
of their graves. |
| Search
the database |
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| Kempston
(Bedfordshire) Men Who Served
World War 1 |
| This
database contains details of the men who served
in the Great War 1914-1918 as detailed by William
Owen, Chairman Kempston Urban District Council
1919 and added to from other sources. Links to
any war memorials in the United Kingdom that these
men are known to exist on are also provided plus
photographs of either the men of their graves. |
| Search
the database |
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| Bedfordshire
Regt, 5th Battalion Deaths
World War 1 |
| This
database contains details of the men who served
in the 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment and
died during the First World War. Links to any
war memorials in the United Kingdom that these
men are known to exist on are also provided plus
photographs of either the men of their graves. |
| Search
the database |
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| Bedfordshire
Regt, 1st/1st Garrison Batts Deaths
World War 1 |
| This
database contains details of the men who served
in the 1st and 1st Garrison Battalions, Bedfordshire
Regiment and died during the First World War.
Links to any war memorials in the United Kingdom
that these men are known to exist on are also
provided plus photographs of either the men of
their graves. |
| Search
the database |
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| Bedfordshire
Yeomanry Deaths
World War 1 |
| This
database contains details of the men who served
in the Bedfordshire Yeomanry and died during the
First World War. Links to any war memorials in
the United Kingdom that these men are known to
exist on are also provided plus photographs of
either the men of their graves. |
| Search
the database |
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| Bedfordshire
Regt, DCM Awards
World War 1 |
| This
database contains details of the men who were
awarded the DCM while serving with the Bedfordshire
Regiment during World War 1. The details of the
citation and a lot more information in many cases
is available.
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| Search
the database |
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NEWS AND REVIEWS
This
section contains various news reports and cuttings, old
and new, with reference to the memorials in and around Bedfordshire.
To view the section please click
here.
Some
men from the Bedfordshire
Regiment are pictured in 1915 and on
exercises in India 1915.
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War Memorials Trust
Friends
of War Memorials is a charity dedicated to promoting
awareness of the debt we owe to those who gave
their lives in the cause of freedom, by ensuring
that their memorials are properly maintained and
preserved. |
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The
Maple Leaf Legacy Project
A
Millennium Project in Remembrance of Canada's
War Dead |
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There
is an AIRCRAFT
& AIRCREW CASUALTIES INFORMATION ARCHIVE for BEDFORDSHIRE
maintained by Colin Mackenzie of Turvey.
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The
Police
Police
Constable Robert HOUSDEN
died in the line of duty serving the Bedfordshire
Community in 1952 when warning traffic of a flood.
He left a young widow who gave birth to his son
a few months later
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Much
information about soldiers who fell, were awarded medals
and more is to be found in old copies of the London
Gazette. Here is a brief resume:
The
London Gazette, first published in 1665, is the oldest, continuously
published newspaper in the United Kingdom and probably the
world. The London Gazette and its sister publications, the
Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes, have a unique position in
British publishing. They are official newspapers of the Crown.
The London Gazette contains a wide range of office notices
including State, Parliamentary and Ecclesiastical notices,
Transport and Planning notices as well as Corporate and Personal
Insolvency notices to name a few. In addition, a number of
Supplements are published covering Honours and Awards, Premium
Bonds, Armed Forces Promotions and Re-gradings, Companies'
information, etc. and a Quarterly Index.
In
the 17th century, it was believed that National efficiency
depended on the intelligence received by the Crown and that
the reckless publishing of news might endanger it. An embargo
on the printing of news other than reports of events abroad,
natural disasters, Royal declarations and sensational crime
continued until 1640. This had the effect of delaying the
development of the press in the UK. Censorship was introduced
in 1643, followed by licensing of news publications. The Gazette
came about because of two momentous events: the Great Plague
and the decision of King Charles II to remove his court -
effectively the government of the time - to Oxford. The London
Gazette started life as the Oxford Gazette and after a few
months changed to its current title. |
The
various memorials
and cemeteries maintained by the War Graves Commission
for the Western Front are described and pictured on the Internet.
There is also another site that describes
these memorials. Details of Kranji War Cemetery can be
found on MyFarEast
website.
To gain
an overview of all the towns and parishes covered, and hopefully
to be covered, by this site there is an alphabetical
index.
Some of
the cap badges are
laid out, on a separate page.
Not all
memorials were to people; there are memorials to various types
of animal that served and fell in World War I for example,
dogs.
There is a brief explanation of the
working of dogs during the war.
Photographs and postcards covering various
memorials surface all the time. Here are a few pictures
of memorial home and abroad.
"D" Company, 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment
- World War 1
World War 1 - 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment relaxing
in the billiard room
The
Officers, 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment circa 1906
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 http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/ |
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shall remember them... |
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Researchers
in campaign to honour all our war dead
A plea for information about people whose names are
on war memorials in Luton, Dunstable and the rest
of Bedfordshire is being made by volunteers who are
compiling a roll of honour in memory of the dead civilians
as well as service personnel.
The mammoth task started when Lynda Smith, a member
of the Beds Family History Society, was looking at
war memorials and became deeply interested in them.
She found some of them were "not in the state they
ought to be", because of the effects of the weather
and age. Mrs Smith contacted Geoff Sewell, chairman
of the society.
Then another of its leading members, Martin Edwards,
agreed to be "webmaster" for the project's Internet
website.
So far they have found 148 Bedfordshire War Memorials
for the dead of World War One and Two. There are also
11 others, commemorating the Boer War and other conflicts.
Mrs Smith and Mr Edwards are determined to put together
as many details as they can of the people whose names
are on the memorials.
Said Mrs Smith: "We want to record family details,
such as the names of the the family of each person
on the memorials, and we would like other information
about them as well."
She said the basic research involved using the Internet
website of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
(website address is www.cwgc.org).
The researchers are also looking at the CD "Soldiers
died in the First World War", village history books,
old postcards, photographs, archives, old newspapers
and other sources.
Mrs Smith continued: "We have had relatives of the
men and women contact us offering further information
and sometimes even photos."
But she admitted: "At present we are only scratching
the surface. Some memorials, which were erected 'in
perpetuity', have gone missing, or been destroyed.
Others were placed in buildings which are no longer
used for the purpose they were first intended."
They have not been able to trace the war memorial
that was in the old Luton police station in Stuart
Street, which was demolished years ago.
The team would also particularly like to have more
information about raids by German bombers on Luton
during the Second World War.
People can write to Mrs Smith at 16 Stuart Road, Barton,
MK45 4NG, or can e-mail her at lynda@rolyntravel.co.uk.
She and Mr Edwards would be grateful for any information
or objects connected with people whose names are on
Bedfordshire's war memorials.
The website of the Beds Family History Society is
www.bfhs.org.uk and the website address of the roll
being compiled is www.roll-of-honour.com.
3rd February 2003 - Luton News |
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Last
updated
8 October, 2006
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