Who will you remember?
For Remembrance Day 2024, Solihull Libraries are encouraging people to complete a Remembrance Card to commemorate a loved one who served in the Armed Forces. It could be an ancestor who died or served during wartime, or someone whose military service included only peacetime operations.
The completed Remembrance Cards will be on display at The Core, Solihull from Tuesday 5th November until Saturday 16th November 2024.
Please email your completed Remembrance Card to heritage@solihull.gov.uk or visit The Core, Touchwood, Theatre Square, Solihull to complete a card in person.
These are details from some of the Remembrance Cards included in previous library displays:
Charles Bernays (1880-1920)
He joined his cousin’s medical practice in Shirley in 1906 and was commissioned on the outbreak of war. He was badly gassed in 1917 and relinquished his commission. He died whilst working at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Dover.
Isaac Carby (1894-1954)
He volunteered for service with the British West India Regiment during WW1. He returned home to Portland, Jamaica and worked as a tailor. He died of prostate cancer and liver cancer in Kingston Public Hospital in 1954.
Mary Green (1910-1940)
A pharmaceutical chemist who lived in Castle Bromwich and became a motor transport driver with the ATS. She was killed by shrapnel whilst sheltering in the kitchen of a boarding house in Nottingham.
Doris Smith (1891-1982)
She volunteered during WW1 as a Red Cross nurse and also did needlework for the war effort. She served as an ambulance driver during WW2 as well as working at the Solihull Work Centre of the Brooke Tool Manufacturing Co.
I. L. Williams (1893-1916)
Len was a regular soldier from Wolverhampton who enlisted in the South Staffordshire Regiment in 1912. He was killed in action on the Somme and was posthumously awarded the Military Medal.
C. Wormald (1878-1951)
He was the Vicar of Shirley on the outbreak of war and, in September 1915, went to the Dardanelles at one week’s notice to become a Chaplain to the forces. He survived the war and later became Rector of Solihull.
Solihull Remembers
As part of the commemorations marking the centenary of the First World War, staff at Solihull Libraries worked with local historians to research each of the 800+ individuals from places in the present Borough or former Rural District who lost their life as a result of the war. A blog post was published on the centenary of each person’s death 2014-2023 – click on the link below to see more.
Solihull Life 