Ref: PR1986
Date: 28/10/08

A unique online archive is going live on Remembrance Day - 11 November.

The new resource describes the lives of people from across Wakefield district who served their country in the First and Second World Wars.

It highlights the effects the war had on families and local communities with stories written by local people and family historians whose ancestors lived in the district.

These stories are illustrated with treasured family memorabilia including photographs, postcards and official documents.

Wakefield Council's Cabinet Member responsible for Culture Cllr Denise Jeffery said: "This November marks the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War and the archive enables us to remember individual men and women from our district who served in this war.

"The online resource is invaluable as it also commemorates the communities and families effected by the conflict. It is an indispensable resource for family historians and a valuable learning tool for all ages."

The archive has many interesting snapshots into the lives of those at war. One Castleford sergeant's letter home, when he was serving in Egypt in March 1918 said: "Last night as I sat and watched the shrapnel bursting like fireworks and saw the flashes of our guns, I wondered what would be the finish of it and how long this would last."

Visitors to the site can also read about a parachute trooper from Pontefract who was sent in a Hamilcar glider to cross the Rhine on 24 March 1945, a Wakefield man who escaped from a prisoner of war camp in Poland and a Royal Engineer from Castleford who served in Italy in 1944 where he developed a love of classical music.

Poignant stories are told about a bereaved sister naming her newborn son after her brother, a presentation made to a local hero from Streethouse who won the Military Medal and a widow with a young daughter who, unable to live on a war pension was forced to look for work.

The archive has been put together by the Council's Wakefield Libraries and Information Services. It is part of the We Will Remember Them project funded by the Big Lottery Fund as part of the Museums, Libraries and Archive Council's "Their Past Your Future 2 (TPYF 2) programme.