Croydon and the Great War

Book excerpt: The last 200 or so pages of this book are taken up with the alphabetical listing of “The Glorious Dead” (2506), the list of Naval and Military Honours (499), also with names in alphabetical order, and thirdly the names of the Returned Prisoners of War(207). In the case of the Fallen the information provided, where known, includes date, place and circumstances of death, date and place of birth, parents, school attended, regiment/corps in which serving at the time of death, where buried ; any decorations awarded are not shown here but in the Honours list. The 36 plates each contain six passport-size photos of individuals who died. The Honours list shows just name, rank, unit, award and date. The roll of Returned Prisoners of War shows name, rank and next-of-kin address at time of capture - the unit is not shown. The first part of the book is devoted to an account of Croydon's part in the Great War. It starts with a description of the course of events in Croydon, year by year, followed by a list of members of the Croydon County Borough Council, 1914 to 1919.. The next part covers the military record, an account of the 4th Battalion (TF) of the Queen's Regiment, ‘C’Squadron the Surrey Yeomanry and the Volunteer Battalion - all based in Croydon. Further descriptions follow, of the part played by civilian organisations and services, such as the police, the Fire Brigade, Medical and Hospital resources, various fund raising committees, Belgian refugees, food and fuel. There are plenty of photos of places and people. This is a comprehensive account of how the war affected the town.