LOCAL HISTORY: Eileen Brereton with a display of British Red Cross artefacts at a Great War exhibition in Stokesley Town Hall. Picture: TOM BANKS.
AN EXHIBITION on the enormous impact of the First World War on Stokesley has drawn in visitors from across the North.
Generations of families, from primary school pupils to great-grandparents, were involved in the Stokesley and the Great War exhibition, which charted its legacy on the town.
Keith Burton, from Stokesley Heritage Group, began working on the project with his wife, Val, more than a year ago, when they began identifying people on the town’s war memorials and researching their stories. The work is still ongoing with 300 named soldiers to research.
Other history groups have also worked on the exhibition, including local history societies in Stokesley, Great Ayton and Hutton Rudby.
Mr Burton said about 450 visitors came to see the display, held at the town hall. Residents from the town were encouraged to bring in their own family memorabilia to add to the archive.
“It showed real community participation which was what we wanted,” said Mr Burton.
“It was very rewarding to see the volume of material brought in for us to photograph by people who were delighted to feel that their forebears were remembered.
“It was also rewarding to see some of those who sent information earlier in the project coming along and meeting members of their family who they had not seen for many years – some making the trip from Wakefield.
“We are grateful to Rev Paul Hutchinson, Rector of Stokesley, for giving us access to the Book of Remembrance which kick-started the whole thing, and to all the groups who participated; schools, local history groups and the Red Cross Society.”
