Men on the Gates

Qube was awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for an exciting project, ‘Men on the Gates’ commemorating the centenary of WW1. The project researched and documented the lives and stories of the 300+ men commemorated on the Oswestry War Memorial Gates. Oswestry’s role in WW1 and beyond has been fully researched through the lives of the ‘Men on the Gates’, to commemorate their sacrifice and ensure their memory is not lost to future generations.

An important railway town, Oswestry played a substantial role during WW1, it also had one of the largest military training camps at Park Hall. The ‘Men on the Gates’ project aimed to create a comprehensive heritage resource for future generations documenting Oswestry’s role during the conflict.

Research was carried out by Project Researcher, John Davies, and 20 volunteers. Many of these volunteers received training in research techniques and WordPress. Families of the soldiers also contributed to the project by bringing in stories and photographs. John held weekly drop-in sessions at Qube, visited local family history groups and presented some of the findings at evening talks.

A website, www.menonthegates.org.uk, was produced that included a page for each of the men, information about battles and battalions and painted a picture of what Oswestry was like during the WW1 period. Three booklets were also produced: Oswestry Pals, Officers on the Gates, Men at Home.