This web site outlines the WW1 service records of four ordinary working class men from the North of England who served their country in the great war. There is nothing remarkable or unusual about any one of them, or their experiences, but their stories collectively paint a fascinating picture of what millions of others must have experienced as they too served their country.
But their service records viewed in isolation barely scratch the surface. To get even the slightest sense of their experiences requires context from the regiments they served in, the battles & campaigns they fought in, the places they were stationed and the brutal daily hardship of surviving 4 years under such conditions as they were forced to endure.
This is their story, imperfectly told, pieced together from official records, narratives, photos, maps, letters and many other sources.