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War Memorial: The Story of One Village's Sacrifice from 1914-2003
War Memorial Who were the men and women whose names are commemorated on war memorials around the country? Where did they live - and how and why did they die? This book for the first time unravels the story of one war memorial, in the Dartmoor village of Lydford.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 6, 2020
I like the concept of this book, looking at who the names on a single Devon village (Lydford) war memorial were. On the whole it is well delivered with social and military background to the men and one woman named, although it was slightly unsatisfying in a few ways.
We are told how the people felt when they left no written or oral record of events - how did the author know? Wouldn't have hurt to occasionally acknowledge that it was supposition. It was also sometimes hard to tell whether he was talking about or quoting the Lydford person. The author also assumes a surprising amount of knowledge at times, contrasting with the clear explanations at other times - there are a lot of military terms that are used but not explained and references to people (politicians and military leaders particularly) whose roles are not explained.
The author was also missed the opportunity to dwell briefly on the nature of war memorials. He notes that many of the names were of people who spent little (or no) time in Lydford. If the war memorial lists people who weren't from there, what was listing? It was listing those who were mourned there - even if they had never been there. There are avenues that could be explored there about commemoration and the changing role of the memorial as the memory of those lost men and women fades.
That said, the book does what it sets out to do and provides some good narrative around the lives of ordinary people who were collectively and individually mourned by the village.
We are told how the people felt when they left no written or oral record of events - how did the author know? Wouldn't have hurt to occasionally acknowledge that it was supposition. It was also sometimes hard to tell whether he was talking about or quoting the Lydford person. The author also assumes a surprising amount of knowledge at times, contrasting with the clear explanations at other times - there are a lot of military terms that are used but not explained and references to people (politicians and military leaders particularly) whose roles are not explained.
The author was also missed the opportunity to dwell briefly on the nature of war memorials. He notes that many of the names were of people who spent little (or no) time in Lydford. If the war memorial lists people who weren't from there, what was listing? It was listing those who were mourned there - even if they had never been there. There are avenues that could be explored there about commemoration and the changing role of the memorial as the memory of those lost men and women fades.
That said, the book does what it sets out to do and provides some good narrative around the lives of ordinary people who were collectively and individually mourned by the village.
July 29, 2014
There is advice on ChurchCare (http://www.churchcare.co.uk/about-us/...) about making a study of the names on a war memorial to find more about those commemorated and their place in local life before the war. Clive Aslet's comprehensive study of the war memorial in Lydford, Devon, does much more than this and paints a fascinating picture of the life of a Devon village and its inhabitants. Aslet brings his study up to 2003, as the village lost men in the Falklands and the Iraq war.
Turning to the First War Mr Aslet explores the family background of each man whose name is on the memorial, the social life of the village, their employment and their family background. The military career of each man is followed, from leaving Lydford, through training and to the front. Thirteen names are recorded for the First War yet the sons of this village saw service, between them, in most of the named battles of the war in Europe and Africa. Aslet explores the service records of the men and their regiments, whom they served under and the conditions they fought in.
The post-war life and conditions are described and Aslet follows the fortunes of men who returned from the war – some to gainful employment, others unable to work again. Henry Williamson, The author of Tarker the otter, is worked into the text, although not a resident of the village. His Uncle, Tom Williamson is a resident. His interests included photography, and are of particular interest to ChurchCare as he was employed to photograph Devon churches before the Second War in case any were damaged by bombing. The Great War is the first one where an effort was made to commemorate everyone who gave their life in action, regardless of rank.There is therefore a mention of the organisations that encouraged the production of memorials to the war, including the Civic Arts Association and the Society for Raising Wayside Crosses.
The Lydford war memorial is a traditional stone cross, memorials can, of course, take many forms. Whatever the memorial type the careful study of the names recorded there will reveal the enormous impact of the war and its great personal cost.
Turning to the First War Mr Aslet explores the family background of each man whose name is on the memorial, the social life of the village, their employment and their family background. The military career of each man is followed, from leaving Lydford, through training and to the front. Thirteen names are recorded for the First War yet the sons of this village saw service, between them, in most of the named battles of the war in Europe and Africa. Aslet explores the service records of the men and their regiments, whom they served under and the conditions they fought in.
The post-war life and conditions are described and Aslet follows the fortunes of men who returned from the war – some to gainful employment, others unable to work again. Henry Williamson, The author of Tarker the otter, is worked into the text, although not a resident of the village. His Uncle, Tom Williamson is a resident. His interests included photography, and are of particular interest to ChurchCare as he was employed to photograph Devon churches before the Second War in case any were damaged by bombing. The Great War is the first one where an effort was made to commemorate everyone who gave their life in action, regardless of rank.There is therefore a mention of the organisations that encouraged the production of memorials to the war, including the Civic Arts Association and the Society for Raising Wayside Crosses.
The Lydford war memorial is a traditional stone cross, memorials can, of course, take many forms. Whatever the memorial type the careful study of the names recorded there will reveal the enormous impact of the war and its great personal cost.
January 31, 2017
This is a book that caught my eye in the library, as it's a subject that already interested me and I found the idea intriguing. The author chose a Devon village War Memorial at random and sought out the answers. How, why and where did these people give their lives. There are 23 names on the memorial; mostly from WW1 but also from WW2 and one from the Falklands War and one from the second Iraq War.
The book is interesting with information about all sorts of military and social history. The author didn't just describe the battles but also gave a lot of background to the village itself. The writing style was sensitive; with humour and tenderness where appropriate. I would imagine it isn't easy to get the tone exactly right. The research was thorough.
There were a few issues for me: the dateline did occasionally jump around and often it wasn't entirely clear who the author was talking about. Sometimes he would start talking about one person named on the memorial and then very quickly, only a couple of lines in, start talking about someone else (not connected to the village or the memorial.) This meant that in the next paragraph I wasn't sure which of the two people the author was now continuing with. He told the experiences of other people who maybe served in the same units, or in the same battle, as the person named on the memorial in order to give more information and build a bigger picture but occasionally these other people were given more pages than some of those on the memorial - which then added further to my confusion - especially when very much later the author would suddenly return to the first person mentioned. It all started to blur a bit for me into one.
There isn't enough extra information re the Falklands War and the Iraq War in this book and compared to the other two sections, covering WW1 and WW2 these felt slightly rushed or at least something was missing. There was just so much extra information for WW1 and WW2 (possibly too much) that the contrast was extreme. I have very limited knowledge of the Falklands War and the Iraq War, so I certainly could have done with a bit more information.
Despite these issues I would still recommend.
The book is interesting with information about all sorts of military and social history. The author didn't just describe the battles but also gave a lot of background to the village itself. The writing style was sensitive; with humour and tenderness where appropriate. I would imagine it isn't easy to get the tone exactly right. The research was thorough.
There were a few issues for me: the dateline did occasionally jump around and often it wasn't entirely clear who the author was talking about. Sometimes he would start talking about one person named on the memorial and then very quickly, only a couple of lines in, start talking about someone else (not connected to the village or the memorial.) This meant that in the next paragraph I wasn't sure which of the two people the author was now continuing with. He told the experiences of other people who maybe served in the same units, or in the same battle, as the person named on the memorial in order to give more information and build a bigger picture but occasionally these other people were given more pages than some of those on the memorial - which then added further to my confusion - especially when very much later the author would suddenly return to the first person mentioned. It all started to blur a bit for me into one.
There isn't enough extra information re the Falklands War and the Iraq War in this book and compared to the other two sections, covering WW1 and WW2 these felt slightly rushed or at least something was missing. There was just so much extra information for WW1 and WW2 (possibly too much) that the contrast was extreme. I have very limited knowledge of the Falklands War and the Iraq War, so I certainly could have done with a bit more information.
Despite these issues I would still recommend.
December 29, 2012
interesting book looking at the devon village of lydford and its war dead from 1914-2003, well worth reading about the names on the memorial as it brings it to life the great deeds normal people did to save this way of life
August 7, 2017
If you have ever looked at a war memorial and wondered about the stories behind the names then this is a book you should read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews