The Swardeston Men Who Went To War. WW1 (The Great War) 1914-1918.
Between April 1914 and November 1918 some 59 men from Swardeston joined the forces and their names are etched on a Roll of Honour that can be seen in the village church. Tragically 10 of the 59 met their deaths during the conflict and these men, along with Nurse Edith Cavell, are commemorated on the war memorial that stands by the lych gate.
Most of these 59 men were born in Swardeston or the adjoining villages although some arrived here, as a result of work and/or marriage, from farther afield. The one thing they had in common was that, at the time of joining the forces, they, or at least their immediate family, were living within the parish. Equally there are many men who were born within the village who, at the time of going off to war, had moved out of the village and are not therefore commemorated on our Roll of Honour but will, hopefully, be remembered wherever they were living at the time.
For information about each man click their link below:-
(men with names in RED, died in the conflict)
These linked pages, above, attempt to bring to life, wherever possible, these 59 men, using whatever records are still available, and provide some insight into their lives and families.
The Roll of Honour includes five members of the Davy family from this village, one of whom died in the conflict, but, when researching this family it was discovered that at least two more of the same family also died but, because they had married and left the village shortly beforehand, they are commemorated in Norwich. Their stories have, however, been included here to illustrate the devastating effect this conflict had on this and many other families.
For some of the men we have a great deal of information, especially those who were part of a long standing village family, where their service and medal records can be traced and, occasionally, information has been forthcoming from present-day members of their families with whom we have made contact.
At times we have discovered living descendants of some of our men who know nothing about their ancestors and the flow of information has been in the other direction where we have uncovered details that were not previously known to the families.
In response to the frequent question "Have you finished yet?" the answer is simply that this project can never really be finished. It is sad to reflect that much of the history we now seek has been lost or destroyed, as is so often the case, before anyone realised its true value. These linked pages summarise what has been discovered to date and the collection and documentation of available information will continue while official records continue to be made available and there remains a chance that someone, somewhere, will see our project and realise that they do know something about "great granddad" after all and will get in touch.
If you want to know more about any of our 61 men, or you have anything to add, or know someone else who might have something to add, then PLEASE get in touch via our Contact page.
We are not infallible and there are almost certainly some errors in our stories. If you have information that can correct our mistakes please get in touch via out Contact page.