2014 sees see some important anniversaries across the nation. It will be 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War – and it will be 70 years since troops and equipment gathered in this area in the build-up to the D-Day landings in World War Two.
There is already some information about both events in the collections of the Buriton Heritage Bank – but it would be good to be able to add more.
Do you have any family stories of wartime – or any family letters or diaries which suggest what life was like in this area in those troubled times?
The First World War
To commemorate the 100 th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, the Village Association will be trying to add to the knowledge about all the people from the parish who took part in the conflict and what life was like at home at this time.
We know that almost 200 men (out of a population of less than 800 villagers) took part in the war – suggesting that almost one in four of the residents that you might normally have seen around the village were away from home at some time; all of them men… What did this mean for life in the village and at work? What do letters and diaries from the time reveal about conditions at home and abroad?
If you have any information, old photographs or memorabilia about the First World War and its effects in this area please let us know.
D-Day
Seventy years ago, in the weeks leading up to D-Day, troops were encamped along all the roads for miles around. The school and the Five Bells were taken over by English and American troops. Some villagers can still remember the roar of the tanks and other vehicles around the village.
We are hoping to find out more about this period in our village history – and where those troops subsequently went.
If you are able to help the Village Association with any of this work, please let us know.
Please contact Doug Jones on 01730 231326 or email us via this website.
