Dedicated volunteers are carrying out painstaking research to add the names to the Nottinghamshire Roll of Honour of the thousands of men and women who lost their lives during the Second World War.
The virtual memorial is a permanent tribute to the county’s fallen and currently commemorates around 14,000 men and women with strong connections to Nottingham and the county who sacrificed their lives during the First World War.
Now more than four years after the centenary commemorations for the Great War, volunteers are working tirelessly to identify military personnel who gave their lives for their country during the Second World War.
They have refurbished the Roll of Honour to enhance the browsing experience for visitors to the virtual site, which has been made possible with funding from Nottingham City Council’s successful £1.9million National Heritage Lottery restoration of the Victoria Embankment Memorial Gardens.
Colonel Tim Richmond, chairman of the Roll of Honour Project Committee, said: “The launch of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire World War II Online Roll of Honour is something I’m very proud to have been involved with.
“An immense amount of work has gone into producing this project, over many years, and I’m over-joyed to now see the website up and running.
“It will include members of the armed services and others with direct links such as the Polish airman and soldiers buried in the Newark War Cemetery, along with others in Commonwealth War Graves across the city and county.”
“This project complements the highly respected Great War online Roll of Honour and completes over 10 years of painstaking research by a small group of volunteers led by Dr David Nunn with the support of both the Nottingham City Council and county council.”
Councillor Keith Girling, Armed Forces Champion for Nottinghamshire County Council, paid tribute to the volunteers who had helped create the Roll of Honour.
He said: “This is the culmination of a tremendous amount of work by a dedicated team. I hope that this online resource can help relatives and friends search for and remember those people whose sacrifice meant so much.”
So far, 5,000 Nottinghamshire-based deaths from the Second World War have been identified – although due to the research being in its infancy, this figure is expected to increase.
Thousands of Nottinghamshire soldiers died during the Second World War but there was no repeat of the mass infantry stalemates and charges which had proved so costly a generation before.
There were also some key differences between the First and Second World War, with British fatalities much lower between 1939 and 1945 than during the earlier conflict – a disparity mirrored in local data collected.
Nottinghamshire’s Royal Navy losses were broadly in line with national percentages although the county’s Merchant Navy fatalities were low.
Around 25 per cent of Nottinghamshire people killed served with the RAF, predominantly in Bomber Command, with hundreds losing their lives during aerial warfare.
Anyone who believes a name should be added to the Roll of Honour should email the details to missingnames@outlook.com.
