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My name is Nigel Marshall. Since before I can remember, I have had an enduring interest in the Great War
1914 -18. My study of this war has shown me that it was a time of great hardship and horror for most of the front line soldiers,
and even those in supposed 'safe' roles were exposed to the danger as never before. I wanted to find out who the men named
on my local War Memorials were, and as far as I could, what they did before and during their wars. Already, I have lived longer
than many of the men and have the chance to live a life they could not.
I think it is no great sacrifice for me to take some time to get to know about these men so that I can remember them
properly and not just as a name on a bronze tablet. They were real men, they had parents, some had wives and children. That
in an instant makes them so much more than just a name, but there is also a whole life to investigate.
I may belong to a minority who think as I do, but I truly believe that they died so that I may live in
peace and freely. To them I owe the life I now have. This is the driving force behind my project here. When I say the
Binyon exhortation seen on the home page of this site, it is no longer just a verse of words for me. I can go through
the list of men marked on the War Memorial and mean what I say.... I WILL remember them. I feel it is my duty, I feel compelled
to do this.
I served in the Army from the age of 16 to 23 years, and saw, at the age of 19, what war was like in the modern age.
My war in the Gulf in 1991 was over in a matter of weeks, indeed my total deployment lasted for only 5 months, whereas the men
we remember here were fighting for much longer than that, in some cases for years. They were a generation apart, with
remarkable resource and a sense of duty that is hard to find today. The recurring debate on the relevence of Remembrance in
modern day society is an insult to the men who left these shores to lay down their lives. How many of us can say that
we would do what they did? It may be nearing a century since they left for the war, but they deserve our gratitude today every
bit as much as they did when they died. They will still deserve it in another hundred years, and long after that.
A
little more about me. I live with my wife, Michelle, and our daughter in a small but scenic village on the Ards Peninsula
in Co. Down, Northern Ireland. Our son, Bailey, was born prematurely. He battled bravely but he contracted an infection called
Necrotising Entero-Colitis, or NEC for short, and this infection caused his death shortly before he was five weeks old. We
miss him terribly. His personality showed us that he was doing all he could to stay with us but as the end came his problems
simply overtook him. Bailey was a very special little boy who would have done great things in his life. Please do make
time to visit his website and get to know a little about the wee man and please sign the guestbook there before you leave.
Click the direct link, go via the links page or click his photos below.
I am pleased (overjoyed!) to announce the birth of my second son, Ben. He was 10 weeks early but is a strong little boy and
is thriving.
The reason I made this website is a simple one. I wanted to know more about the men from where I lived who went off, voluntarily
or conscripted, to a war from which they did not return. War Memorials vary in the amount of detail they provide, but unfortunately
neither of the villages memorials give very much information to the passer by. For many years getting hold of the information
was very difficult and the researcher had to know exactly where to look but with the advent of the digital age, information
is now much more widely available and cross referencing is so much easier.
Having attended the Remembrance Sunday Services in both villages it struck me that the service in Barwick was much more
personal simply because the names of the fallen were read out in full, whereas the Scholes men only had an initial and surname
read out. I fail to see how a man can truly be remembered if we do not really know anything of the man. With this in mind
I set to work on researching the men on the two War Memorials. These pages are the result of this work.
I am a member of the Western Front Association, a Friend of Lochnagar, A friend of St George's Memorial Church, Ypres
and a member of the Royal British Legion. I have been interested in the Great War since I was a child and the interest has
grown with every passing year. I collect and research medals to men of the West Yorkshire Regiment from the Great War period
and I regularly travel the country searching out the graves and memorials dedicated to holders of the Victoria Cross, the
Commonwealth's premier battlefield honour.
I enjoy playing cricket, I played for Scholes as a boy and was in the 9 Field Workshop team which won the Craftsman's
Cup and Army Cup in 1993. I also enjoy cycling.
Acknowledgements
When I began working on the research, I was unaware that I was not alone. Christine Hudson, of Scholes was also working on
her own project with exactly the same aims. Once we found out about each other we pooled our notes and did some further work
jointly. The result of that collaboration was a Memorial Book which was presented to the Barwick in Elmet and Scholes Branch
of the Royal British Legion in time for it to be dedicated at the Remembrance Sunday Service in 2005.
Without Christine's input the pages here would not have been possible.
I also want to thank the many friends from the Great War Forum who have supported me and offered advice on the setting
up of a web site. Many of these friends have visited war cemeteries on my behalf to take the photographs that I have used
on this site. My thanks to each of them. The love and support the members of the Great War Forum gave to Michelle and I during
the time Bailey was fighting for his life also needs to be highlighted. We owe them a debt which can never be repaid.
To the officers and members of the Barwick in Elmet and Scholes Branch of the Royal British Legion I owe thanks for their
enthusiasm and support of the project to put together the Book of Remembrance. I hope this website comes as a nice surprise
to them.
Last but certainly not least, to my wife, Michelle. She has put up with having the men on the memorials in her house
constantly for months. She must feel that she knows each one of them like an uncle.
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