Welcome to the Winchester Great War Dead Fulflood & Weeke Project Men of the 1st Hampshires in Ploegsteert (Plugstreet) Wood, Flanders, during the winter of 1914-15 November 11, 2018 will mark the centenary of the Armistice that finally silenced the guns in the Great War. Up and down the country, in what will undoubtedly be deeply poignant commemorative services, communities will remember the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen who died in a conflict that is still etched on our national psyche. Fulflood and Weeke in Winchester will be no exception. The churches of St. Paul and St. Matthew contain memorials to no fewer than 91 men from the parish who went off to war never to return and they will be remembered at services in November. Although these men died more than a century ago their stories are only now being retold thanks to the efforts of a local research group. Over the past three years the researchers have worked to build up a picture of the lives of the parish’s war dead – where they lived and worked, where they went to school, their families, and, of course, where they fought and died. The stories we have glimpsed have been moving and fascinating. Young men from the streets of Fulflood, Weeke and elsewhere in Winchester went to fight and die not only on the Western Front but also at Gallipoli, Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and even Russia. Winchester, of course, was a garrison town so many joined those regiments based here – the Hampshire Regiment, the Rifle Brigade and the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. Others served in the Royal Navy and the fledgling air force. Men from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and East Africa with family connections in the parish, volunteered to fight for the “Mother Country” and their names are remembered on the memorials. One of these men had been on Captain Scott’s final expedition to Antarctica in 1912 and was to die in a German prisoner-of-war camp. Many schools where the men went to are still here. Several went as infants to Western School, then in Elm Rd, and onto St. Thomas School in Mews Lane, which was eventually amalgamated into Kings’ School. There, they are remembered on the St. Thomas School Memorial Board. Some went onto Peter Symond’s Grammar School, now the Sixth Form College, and they too have a memorial board. Some went to prep schools and onto public schools such as Winchester College where they are also remembered. Some schools they attended no longer exist, for example, St. Peter’s in Chesil Street - but their records do. The time has now come to make their stories accessible to all interested people and aspects of this will take money! With just 1-click you can donate to this cause on the Contribute button on the right side of this page. * The most expensive item will be to publish a book of their stories which we aim to have available by Remembrance Sunday, on the 11th November this year.* We also plan to have portable permanent exhibition boards which can be displayed in:* St. Mathew’s and St. Paul’s, the churches of the parish of Fulflood & Weeke.* Local schools* Hampshire Record Office & the Discovery Centre* Community halls* Relevant military museums & local military bases* Creation of a website with all the information on it which will have an element of interrogation for example, do any of the men live in your street?* We hope further that:* Teaching resources will be created in liaison with local schools. Many current pupils in Winchester, especially at Western, Westgate and Peter Symmond's, may live in houses that were once the homes of these men.* A programme of Public Lectures & Guided Tours will happen.Long-term, we also hope to tell the stories of all the men who went to fight in World Wars I & II but that is not part of the current project. Thank you for reading this page and we do hope that you find this a worthwhile cause to contribute to.You can further help if you think you are related to any of the men and even have relevant photographs. A
