My Grandad fought in WW1

I just discovered a few months ago that my grandfather fought fo rite British in the First World War as part of the British West Indian Regiment. It was never something discussed in my family and so that history is practically lost unless I Cana Gina any surviving relatives that is lucid enough to remember. I will try to see if I anyone has a picture of him. He is one of the nearly forgotten many!!
The memorial gardens has now takin on board the task of including the WI Regiment in their acknowledgement of those brave souls.

There is a response to this story here: THE ABBEY WOOD MEMORIAL GARDEN

 

One comment

  1. We began with 15 names in 2014 now we have 69 names with 16 more to go onto the memorial later Ann Marie is correct her grandad did serve in the ww1 but like many records were lost and details disappeared but history is closer to Ann Marie than she believes .Where Ann Marie lives now in 1914 the family of the Lanes lived in the house she currently lives in Albert was the youngest son and Harry was the eldest their dad had passed away before the war .Now Albert and Harry went off to war . Albert was killed in battle and 3 days later his body was discovered by a German patrol they thought he was German and buried him in a German Grave . British military were horrified when they heard of his burial and a party was sent in to exhume Albert and he was buried in a British communal grave . However someone in the military decided in 1924 to exhume him again and give him his own grave however nothing remained except his cap badge and his boots and he had wrote his name in his boots and a measurement was taken as Albert was 6 feet 2 inches tall it fitted perfectly and he was given his own resting place .His brother Harry was injured in battle and brought home he died from his wounds and is buried in Plumstead cemetary .Mary Lane the mam was left alone and died in 1940 . In WW1 Alex Mc Leod school was the only school in the area and has much history attached to it including a serious bombing in ww2 .I anyone out the has stories about the war and the people of Abbey Wood or Thamesmead write them down and text them to me on 07889755838 I would love to hear from you or if you have photo’s let me have a copy please .

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