The Mitford Men

This is a blog by Project Officer Frances Casey The Mitford name is most famously associated with the six extraordinary daughters of David Freeman Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale (1878-1958). They were Nancy, the author of witty tales of family life; Pamela, whose love of farm life led John Betjeman to refer to her as the [...]

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Proposal for a memorial to Sheffield’s Women of Steel

It is sometimes claimed that women are not commemorated on war memorials. This is not true but you do have to look a bit harder to find them, only because their casualty rates weren’t as high. However, their contribution to the war effort is not as visible. This is set to be addressed by Sheffield Council who [...]

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Mary Seacole and the Common Soldier in the Crimea

by UKNIWM office volunteer Richard Graham The National Portrait Gallery has recently acquired a portrait  of this celebrated nurse who, though rebuffed by Florence Nightingale, made her own way to the Crimea to assist the British soldiers. She was one of a number of civilians who, like Miss Nightingale, seem to have distinguished themselves far [...]

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How we remember

Following up on the story we covered yesterday (the new award issued to members of the Air Transport Auxiliary who served during the Second World War) there is an interesting interview on the BBC website with Margaret Frost, one of the women pilots who served in the ATA.  Click to read the full interview Margaret said: “It is marvellous to get the recognition [...]

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WW2 Air Transport Auxiliary recognised

Members of the Air Transport Auxiliary – pilots who ferried planes in the Second World War – are to receive a new award recognising their contribution to the war effort. Read more from BBC News The ATA was made up of trained pilots who were ineligible for a combat flying role.  This included men who were too [...]

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Myths about who can appear on memorials

This post is prompted by a newspaper article, sent in by member of the public, which appeared earlier this month in the Yorkshire Post.  The article deals with plans to add the names of those who died in the two world wars to Featherstone’s war memorial, as these were not included when it was built after the First World War.  (Click [...]

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Finding out more about Boer War memorials

While the UKNIMW records all UK memorials to all conflicts, there are some projects that focus on a narrower field.  One of these is the Anglo-Boer Memorials Project, which was established to record, catalogue and photograph all Anglo-Boer War memorials in the world. There is a very interesting essay available on their website entitled ‘A Survey of Memorials to the [...]

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How much do you know about war memorials?

There are many misconceptions about war memorials.  How much do you know?  Challenge your knowledge with these True or False statements.  Click ‘continue reading‘ to find out the answers. 1)  Someone can only be named on a memorial if they’re not buried in the UK 2)  War memorials can also commemorate those who didn’t die in wars 3) [...]

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‘Lumberjill’ memorial unveiled

A memorial to the Women’s Timber Corps, nicknamed the ‘Lumberjills’, was unveiled on 10 October 2007 in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park near Aberfoyle in Scotland. UKNIWM Record The Women’s Timber Corps were part of the Women’s Land Army during the Second World War and were posted across the UK to undertake the strenuous work [...]

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Yvonne Green

On Friday I went to the unveiling of a memorial to  Yvonne Green, a Canadian woman who served as an auxiliary firewoman during the Blitz in London.  She was killed by German bombing while on fire watching duty at Chelsea Old Church on 17 April 1941.  That night would prove to be one of the deadliest of the [...]

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