A touching new memorial is set to open to honor the ‘forgotten heroes’ of World War One. This memorial will commemorate hundreds of individuals who perished in the United Kingdom and Ireland without a known final resting place. Through the efforts of the ‘In From The Cold’ project and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemorations team, 400 individuals have been identified to be memorialized.
Princess Anne will reveal the new memorial on Tuesday, paying tribute to individuals like nurse Margaret Elizabeth Bramfitt, who served in the Voluntary Aid Detachment. Born in 1883 in Sunderland, Margaret was the daughter of George and Mary Jane Bramfitt. After her mother’s early passing, she relocated to Derbyshire with her father and stepmother, becoming an active member of the Wesleyan church.
Joining the British Red Cross in April 1918, Margaret dedicated herself to nursing in various hospitals from Bermondsey to Manchester before her deployment to Lichfield, where she tragically succumbed to a gastric ulcer. The new memorial will initially commemorate 400 service personnel, with room for up to 1,200 names. The memorial stones are already in place, set amidst a growing woodland landscape to create an inspiring and pleasant space.
Among those honored will be Serjeant David Anderson McIntosh, who enlisted with the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1914 and served in France with the British Expeditionary Force. Despite sustaining injuries in France, he received the Military Medal for his bravery. Sadly, he passed away in 1919 at the age of 28.
The impact of the First World War extended beyond the battlefield, with many service members returning from the Western Front and succumbing to various causes. These individuals were often overlooked in the national records. The new Brookwood 1914-1918 memorial in Surrey aims to bring their stories back to public memory and acknowledgment.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission spokesperson emphasized their ongoing commitment to ensuring every individual who served the British Empire during the World Wars is properly commemorated.