A touching new memorial is set to open to honor the ‘forgotten heroes’ of World War One. This memorial will commemorate hundreds of individuals who perished in the United Kingdom and Ireland without a known final resting place. Through the collaborative efforts of the ‘In From The Cold’ project and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemorations team, 400 individuals have been identified to be remembered at this memorial.
Princess Anne will reveal the new memorial next Tuesday, which will pay tribute to individuals like nurse Margaret Elizabeth Bramfitt from the Voluntary Aid Detachment. Margaret, born in 1883 in Sunderland, was the only daughter of George and Mary Jane Bramfitt. Following the loss of her mother as a child, she relocated with her father and stepmother to Derbyshire, where she became an active member of the Wesleyan church.
In April 1918, Margaret volunteered for the British Red Cross and served as a dedicated nurse in various hospitals from Bermondsey to Manchester before being stationed in Lichfield. Tragically, she passed away from a gastric ulcer in Lichfield. The new memorial will initially commemorate 400 service personnel, with space for up to 1,200 names. The memorial stones are already in place, and a new woodland landscape will surround them over time, creating an inspiring and inviting space.
Another individual to be honored is Serjeant David Anderson McIntosh, born in Glasgow in 1890. He enlisted with the Royal Army Medical Corps in September 1914 and served with the British Expeditionary Force in France from May 1916. Unfortunately, during an operation in northern France in September 1917, he was injured by a shell explosion and was sent back to England for treatment. Despite his bravery in the field, receiving the Military Medal by the end of 1917, he succumbed to his injuries in April 1919 at the age of 28.
The impact of the First World War extended beyond the battlefield, with many UK and Ireland service personnel returning from the Western Front and later passing away from various causes. The new Brookwood 1914-1918 memorial in Surrey aims to restore these individuals’ stories to public memory and recognition.
A spokesperson for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission expressed their commitment to commemorating every individual who sacrificed their lives for the British Empire during the World Wars, emphasizing the ongoing nature of their work.