Contributors and descendants of local WW1 service personnel were invited to attend the launch of Sandra Dexter’s book at Holy Trinity Hall, 177 Union Road, on Remembrance Day, 11 November.

Researched and edited by Sandra Dexter, a former Surrey Hills resident and a member of the Society, this is a 650+ page book, which acknowledges the more than 500 people listed on the panels of The Shrine in the Surrey Gardens. It is the culmination of years of work. Surrey Hills Historical Society has supported this work in a number of ways and its publication has been enabled by the financial support of Navy Health and a private donor.

The original goal of this project was simply to identify these people; to create a reference source. This expanded into finding out more about what they did and what they experienced. Along the way the community ties to one another were revealed: brothers and sisters, fathers and sons, uncles and nephews, in-laws, sweethearts, friends, work mates, neighbours, school chums, fellow cadets; some embarking on the same day, serving in the same battalion. Letters and articles, family notices, missing reports and images are collated to give a glimpse of what they faced and knew.

It is a wonderful tribute to those who served in WW1 from our area and copies of the book are available to descendants of those listed on the panels of The Shrine. For further information, contact us by email: shhistory3127@gmail.com