On Wars

The 20th century h&s been a terrible one for wars: we will be glad to see the end of it. Britain has had its full share: The Boer War, The Great War, World War Two, The Korean War, The Falklands, The Gulf War -- and smaller escapades in between -- Suez, Malaya, etc. Other countries have suffered dozens of internal conflicts, too numerous to detail, though the Congo, Vietnam and Afghanistan come easily to mind. They are all history, though the Falklands and the Gulf seem to be part of today. The two World Wars, to the modern generation, really are history and in the local context it is as difficult to extract details as it is to do so for the 17th and 18th centuries.

We know of a small group of Alcester people whe have been researching the names of local people who appear on the First World War memorial. It has not been easy, for that conflict has slipped away into the mists of time and some of the local men who did not return hose left few clues about themselves. One might think that World War Two would be easier to research but it is not so. If there had been a local history society in the 1950s, people might have deposited memorabilia about our local soldiers, airmen and sailors, as well as the 'Home Guard'.

The most recent troubles (Falklands and Gulf) may have involved men or women from the Lower Arrow and Alne Valleys. By the year 2150 it will probably be very difficult to discover who they were and what they did. Now is the time to let our Society know, before the memories fade, so that we may include them and their details in our files.

Winter 1991 Index