I want to give Milton Keynes something no other town or city within the country has. The Great War to end all wars 1914 to 1918. World War Two 1939 to 1945. Milton Keynes born in the year 1967.
Across our City war memorials list those who died serving their King and Country. It is so important to remember that without those named on our war memorials, those while serving King and Country gave their young lives, there would be no City of Milton Keynes today for us all to live our lives, young and old, within.
I was born on Friday 3rd November 1950 and grew up surrounded by memories within every family of the wars. Those who had lost family members talked about these young men but those who had served and survived seldom, if ever, spoke of their wartime experiences.
A celebrated war poet from The Great War spoke out in the 1920’s against the fallen being remembered by names carved in stone. He said they should be remembered in peoples’ hearts. HOW VERY TRUE but if those war memorials had not been built how could we today
But how do we remember them ? They are names carved in stone. We need to lift those names off the memorials and make them real people, never forgetting if they had not given their young lives the City of Milton Keynes would never have been.
Researching the heritage given to us by the Leon Family and in particular the work done to give us Bletchley & Fenny Stratford War Memorial, I was inspired to research the real young men from The Great War there named. From this I moved on and complied a list with as much information as I could find for every name on every Milton Keynes memorial. I then began sharing on social medial every day those who lost their lives on that day in WWI and WWII. It has been deeply moving to see just how many people check this out ach day.
I am NOT taking credit for this work. Honour goes to those who gave their young lives so we can live our old lives and thanks goes to every Mkeneyan who checks the roll of honour each day.
The final chapter in my book MILTON KEYNESTHE CITY OF LEGEND lists by street every fallen serviceman whose home address I have been able to trace. I try to inspire those living today at these addresses and all who drive or walk along the streets to take the names off the stone memorials and place them in their hearts.
In the week before Armistice Sunday 2022 I sent a copy of this Map of Honour by e-mail to every single member of Milton Keynes Council. NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM E-MAILED BACK ! How sad.
However, attending Armistice Sunday 2022 at Bletchley Saint Mary’s I experiences such a beautiful time I added a special chapter to Milton Keynes The City Of Legend sharing how people from all areas of our city’s society, young and old, all races, creeds, colour and religion came together to lift names off the stone memorial and take them away in their hearts.
Moving on I am now placing names into series of different listings:
By date.
By war memorial.
Alphabetical order
My place of burial and
commemoration.
A special list for all who
have no known graves.
By age.
By home address in Milton Keynes Map of Honour.
I am about 20% of the way through this extended project.
As I began this work I was not intending to physically publish the results. I have not yet decided but I think I may do so in hardback format on Amazon. As an accepted Amazon Author I currently have 125 different books, e-books, short stories and essays on my bookshelf. I do not make a lot of money from royalties and that I do make I spend on a variety of different projects I am involved in. IF I decide to publish this work, I have yet to make such a decision I would give all royalties to three different causes:
Roll-Of-Honour which
has been of so much help and without such help I never could have undertaken
the work.
Royal British Legion Milton
Keynes
Help For Heroes
This will NOT be me giving but YOU who read the book.
Yes, I want Milton Keynes to have something which no other town or city in the country has BUT I want those of you taking names off our war memorials and placing them in your hearts to inspire other towns and cities to do the same.
They
gave their young lives so we can live our old lives and without such sacrifice
there would be no Milton Keynes.
YOUNG LIVES: I was born on 3rd November 1950. It was during the decade of the 1950’s that the word TEENAGER was invented. I lived my teenage years in the Swinging Sixties. Sadly I am no longer a teenager. How many teenagers live in the City of Milton Keynes today in the year 2023. How many teenagers are listed on our City’s war memorial who gave their very young lives so we can all live in Milton Keynes today ?
SIXTEEN YEAR OLDS: Three very young boys gave their lives so we can live in
Milton Keynes.
SEVENTEEN YEAR OLDS: One young man gave his life so we can live in Milton Keynes.
EIGHTEEN YEAR OLDS: Twelve teenagers of this age gave their lives so we can live
in Milton Keynes.
NINETEEN YEAR OLDS: Forty-six nineteen year olds would never see their twentieth birthday. They gave their young lives so we can all live our lives, whatever the age, in Milton Keynes.
Please do not skip the list which is now about to follow. I am going to share today the names and more of sixteen and seventeen year olds who lost their lives in the service of King and Country. Tomorrow I will share the eighteen year olds and on Monday I will share the nineteen year olds. PLEASE take these young men and place them in your heart:
SIXTEEN:
1915 Private 10828 Ernest Parrott (Real name Ernest William Farrow) 6th Battalion Border Regiment. Killed in action Saturday 21st August 1915 at the age of sixteen years. Named on Olney War Memorial. Private Parrott is buried in Green Hill Cemetery Gallipoli Turkey Plot I Row D Grave 18.
1916 Boy J/38258 1st Class Reginald Thomas Varney HMS Black Prince Royal Navy. Died Wednesday 31st May 1916 at the age of sixteen years. Son of Alfred and Annie Varney 135 Tickford Street Newport Pagnell. Named on Newport Pagnell War Memorial. Reginald Varney has no known grave. He is commemorated Portsmouth Naval Memorial Hampshire Panel 14.
1916 Rifleman C/7295 Edward Albert French 1st Battalion Kings Royal Rifle Corps. Killed in action Thursday 15th June 1916 at the age of sixteen years. Resident Wolverton. Named on Wolverton and Old Wolverton War Memorial and Stony Stratford War Memorial. Rifleman French is buried in Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery Comines-Warneton Hainult Belgium Grave B 2.
SEVENTEEN:
1915
Private 3/7689 Percy Reginald James Ward
3rd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Died Tuesday 4th May
1915 at the age of seventeen years. Son of James and Elizabeth Ward of Olney
Road Lavendon. Named on Lavendon War Memorial. Private Ward is buried in
Felixstowe New Cemetery Suffolk Grave J 3.
Tomorrow I will share the names of all EIGHTEEN YEAR OLDS named on our war memorials.
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