At this time of National Commemoration when communities large and small across the country are looking back at the momentous events of a century ago, we in the local Branch of the RBL welcome this opportunity to sponsor the special WW1 edition of the Village Newsletter to mark the contribution that East Knoyle - like countless other villages - made during World War 1.


The aim has been to combine family records and official sources to illuminate the lives of those who served and returned, those remembered on the village War Memorial, and those on the home front who kept the fabric of village work and home life together.


Our local Branch of the RBL was established in 1921. Known then as the British Legion it was established to remem- ber the dead and provide care and support to veterans and their families. It should be remembered that 88% of those who put on uniform between 1914-18 survived, many of them with terrible wounds and mental issues. Nearly a century later the work of providing life-long support to the serving personnel, veterans and their families of today continues as many of the challenges they face are similar to those who returned in 1918.


That is why your continued generous response to the annual Poppy Appeal, highlighted in the main body of the Village Newsletter, is so important as it enables the four pillars of welfare, comradeship, representation and Remembrance that underpin the work of the RBL to continue for the next hundred years.


Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the families of the village who responded to our appeal for personal memorabilia, and the immense contribution of Jan Oliver, OPC for East Knoyle, Wiltshire and of course the VN Editors Dawn and Martin, and Ron Clark from our branch of the RBL for all the extra work they have taken on in producing this memorable edition.


Mike Waterhouse Chairman East Knoyle, Semley and Sedgehill Branch Royal British Legion


Illustration by Charlybelles


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