WWI Centenary

World War I Centenary

Between 2014 and 2018 the Society is involved with various activities and projects to mark the centenary of WWI. Work has already started on some projects and Society Volunteers are involved in various events.

Websites

A list of useful websites for World War One research has been compiled by Barbara Phillips, to download or view please click below (updated Feb 2015).

View/Download

Researching WW1 Ancestors

Caroline Blackett has compiled a document on how to start tracing your WW1 ancestor, download WWI research below;

View/Download

Local newspaper

Barbara Attwaters wrote a piece on researching World War I ancestry for the Sevenoaks Chronicle in January 2014, Sevenoaks Chronicleclick is available for download or view below.

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Journal

All four issues of the Society Journal will contain articles, information, photographs on WWI, where possible emphasising the effects of the war and involvement of civilians, women, children and men as well as those who served in the armed forces.

If you would like to remember a family member and submit an article, or photographs please contact the Editor who will be only to happy to help and advise

THE COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES PHOTOGRAPH PROJECT

A Society Commemorative Project for the First World War Anniversary 2014

Brief Background:

During May 2013 it was brought to our attention that the CWGPP was asking for volunteers to photograph service war deaths both for Commonwealth War Graves and those individuals commemorated on family graves. It was suggested at a Society Executive Committee Meeting that perhaps we, as a Society, could help to get some of the headstones in our area photographed or, in some cases, re-photographed for them, as some had been done many years ago when technology was not so good. They gave us a list of those burial grounds in Kent which applied to our area (excluding those that were now in SE London) which they hoped we could photograph. We divided our area into our three branches – Dartford, Bromley and Sevenoaks and worked from there.

A team of approximately 40 volunteers (both men and women) laboured over several years to do this, coping with midges and sunburn to long grass and muddy puddles. They came up with far more individuals than anticipated. The figures below were done in February 2017 and since then we have ‘found’ some of the missing graves and identified others but this table gives an indication of the range and scope of the work undertaken.

Area	Nos from CWGPP	Nos actually found	Gravestones not found	No of images taken
Bromley	744	885	10	1673
Sevenoaks	435	499	08	702
Dartford	480	584	08	832
Total	1659	1968	26	3207

Discs were sent to the CWGPP on a regular basis until we completed the service deaths.

The exercise showed us completely different pictures of our burial grounds. Some were well maintained with ‘friends’ often doing the major upkeep and, on occasion, sheep or goats! Municipal cemeteries were, on the whole, well maintained too, helped by the use of Community Service individuals in some cases and they were very helpful in identifying and clearing the graves for photographing. However, some were left to be ‘nature’ reserves with perhaps paths cleared. We only wish they had photographed them before they had done this because currently it is dangerous to wander round what with the long grass, fallen headstones and curbs and holes dug by foxes and rabbits; totally impossible to find what one is looking for. Every Church and Municipal Burial Ground (bar one) were very helpful in our endeavour, especially once they knew why we were doing this. The British Legion were notified of any that were not known to them.

We are sure there are some that have been missed but if we are told about these at a later date we will add them in a later version. We have done our best.

We have not forgotten Civilian War deaths. We have also been given a list of these by the borough in which they died as where they are actually buried is not known. We have done a lot of work on these and hopefully we will be able to produce something by the end of the year. We should mention that Civilian casualties were only recorded for the Second World War. We have come across some for the First World War and have included them.

Inevitably many other photographs were taken of War Memorials (although not asked for) and other casualties of war e.g. Boar War, Crimean War, Indian Mutiny and more modern day conflicts. The Imperial War Museum’s National Inventory of War Memorials has a project whereby such photographs are recorded, so we have sent these photographs to them. However, we have also included these on the discs as we felt it gave a more complete picture of the fallen. They, too, have been split into the three areas.

Barbara Philips
Chair: Publications & Projects
NWKFHS
2018

Churchyards A - I

Ash & New Ash Green St Peter & St Paul Churchyard

Ashurst St Martin

Beckenham St George

Beckenham Crematorium

Bexley St Mary's Church

Bexleyheath Cemetery

Bidborough St Lawrence Churchyard

Biggin Hill Cemetery

Brasted St Martin Churchyard

Bromley Common Holy Trinity

Bromley London Road or Old Cemetery

Bromley St Lukes

Bromley Plaistow Cemetery

Chalk St Mary

Chelsfield St Martin of Tour Churchyard

Chevening Burial Ground

Chevening St Botolph

Chiddingstone Causeway St Luke’s Churchyard

Chiddingstone St Mary Churchyard

Cliffe St Helen

Chislehurst Cemetery

Chislehurst: St Mary’s RC Churchyard

Chislehurst: St Nicholas Churchyard

Chislehurst: The Annunciation Churchyard

Cobham St Mary Magdalene New Churchyard

Crayford St Paulinus

Crockenhill: All Saints Churchyard

Crockenhill: All Soul’s Churchyard

Crockenhill: Union Burial Ground

Crockham Hill

Darenth St Margaret of Antioch R.C. Churchyard

Dartford East Hill Cemetery

Dartford Watling Street Cemetery

East Peckham Holy Trinity

East Peckham St Michael

East Wickham St Michael Churchyard

Edenbridge Cemetery

Erith Brook Street Cemetery

Erith St John the Baptist Churchyard

Eynsford Baptist Chapelyard

Eynsford St Martin Churchyard

Farningham St Peter & St Paul

Fawkham St Mary Churchyard

Footscray All Saints

Footscray Baptist Church

Fordcombe St Peter Churchyard

Halstead St Margaret Churchyard

Hayes St May the Virgin Churchyard

Hartley All Saints Churchyard

Hever St Peter Churchyard

Higham St Mary Churchyard

Horton Kirby St Mary New Churchyard

Ide Hill St Mary Churchyard

Churchyards I - W

Ifield St Margaret Churchyard, Cobham

Ightham St Peter Churchyard

Kemsing St Mary Churchyard

Keston Parish Churchyard

Knockholt St Katherine Churchyard

Lamberhurst St Mary the Virgin Churchyard

Larkfield Holy Trinity

Leigh St Mary Churchyard

Longfield St Mary Magdalene

Mark Beech Holy Trinity Churchyard

Meopham St John Churchyard

North Cray St James Additional Churchyard

Northfleet Cemetery

Nurstead St Mildred Churchyard

Orpington All Saints Chuchyard Extension Extra

Orpington All Saints Chuchyard Extension

Orpington All Saints Churchyard

Otford St Bartholomew Churchyard

Paddock Wood St Andrew old Churchyard

Penshurst St John the Baptist Churchyard

Plaxtol Churchyard

Ridley St Peter Churchyard

Riverhead St Mary Churchyard

Seal St Peter & St Paul Churchyard

Sevenoaks (Greatness) Cemetery

Shoreham St Peter & St Paul Churchyard

Sevenoaks St Nicholas

Shorne St Peter & St Paul

Sidcup Cemetery

Sidcup St John

Southborough Cemetery

Southfleet St Nicholas Churchyard

Speldhurst St Mary the Virgin Churchyard

St Mary Cray, Star Lane Cemetery

St Paul's Cray, St Paulinus Churchyard

Stansted St Mary Churchyard

Stone Cemetery Dartford

Stone St Mary

Sundridge St Mary

Sutton-at-Hone Burial Ground

Swanley St Mary Churchyard

Swanley St Paul Churchyard

Swanscombe Cemetery

Tonbridge Cemetery

Tunbridge Wells Cemetery

Westerham French Street Private Burial Ground

West Kingsdown (St. Edmund the King & Martyr) Churchyard (also known as The Church in the Woods)

West Wickham St John the Baptist Churchyard

Westerham St Mary Churchyard

Wilmington St Michael

Wrotham St George Churchyard Extension

Sevenoaks St Nicholas Churchyard: this church and graveyard is unsafe and dangerous. It has been fenced off so unfortunately we are unable to gain access.

Bromley Absentee Voters List

A project that is being carried out by the Bromley Branch. This project is nearing completion. The Branch is also looking at a WW1 exhibition where members could provide a small display of a WW1 ancestor on 1 or 2 A3 pages and that these could be placed around the room.