Missing, assumed killed in action in Italy, aged 26
Serjeant Roland H C Stewart
Category: England
Private John Henry Taylor
Missing during the Dunkirk evacuation, aged 22
Denis Frederick Dean Wilder
Shot down over France while on a bombing run, aged 24
The Weight of Silence
A detour through Staffordshire leads to a profound encounter with history, humanity, and remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum.
Each Name a Story: The Lives Behind a Forgotten War Memorial
Fifteen young men, lost too soon, their names rediscovered from a forgotten Second World War memorial in Rochester. These are stories of courage, sacrifice, and the people behind the names
Luck of the Irish
Joseph Twohey (c1838–1913) an Irish-born soldier whose career spanned Crimea, India, and near-miraculous survival, honoured with Hayling’s first military funeral
A ‘desperate state of things’
Alexander Cameron Brock (1855-1898) a forgotten family story, uncovered through hospital archives, reveals the quiet tragedy of a Victorian doctor lost to mental illness
The Good Mother
Leah Ellen Mayo (1847–1927) a young widow, navigated poverty, prejudice, and impossible choices - then reinvented herself to keep her family together
What’s in a name
Julia Lane? (c.1840–1925): Illiterate but resilient, she rose from famine-era Ireland to hardship in London, through her inner strength and determination
The Law According to Mary Elizabeth Blundell
Mary Elizabeth Blundell (née Johnson) (1822-1880): A life of struggle and defiance in Victorian society underscores her resilience and resourcefulness
