​Bury remembers the First World War with comprehensive archives

A massive treasure trove in which Bury Remembers the First World War will be opened in the new year.

And some of the material will be unveiled next week at a series of sessions at local libraries ahead of the Armistice Centenary.

It’s the culmination of four years’ work dating back to 2014, when Bury Libraries and Archives Service was awarded Heritage Lottery Funding for a project titled ‘Bury Remembers the First World War’.

Dedicated staff and volunteers have uncovered a wealth of information from five local newspapers that were printed during the Great War.

The result of research is a vast digital archive containing:

• 2,500+ soldier face images
• 2,500+ soldier detailed obituaries
• 30,000+ local newspaper articles (including adverts, poetry, artwork, recipes, soldiers’ letters and much more)
• An extensive soldiers spreadsheet containing around 2,800 records making it possible to locate local soldiers via their address.

All this will be made available on a new website which is scheduled to be launched early next year.

Before then, residents are invited to attend remembrance sessions where people can come and look through the soldiers’ images, obituaries and various other information taken from the newspaper archive.

The sessions are as follows (booking not necessary):

• Prestwich Library – Tuesday 6 November (10am to noon)
• Ramsbottom Library – Wednesday 7 November (2pm to 4pm)
• Bury Archives – Thursday 8 November (10am to noon)
• Radcliffe Library – Friday 9 November (10 am to noon)

Volunteers at Radcliffe Library have also produce an amazing hard copy archive and display of Radcliffe Soldiers that together with the Bury Remembers Project will ensure that no local soldier is forgotten.

Adam Carter from Bury Archives said: “The soldier could be one of your ancestors, a former resident of the house or street you now live in, mentioned on a local cenotaph or memorial, or unrelated in any way.

“We will then print the information for you, or make it available digitally for you to remember them in your own way at home on November 11. We would be grateful if any acts of remembrance could be photographed and emailed to us at Archives@bury.gov.uk or tweeted to @BuryLibraries and @BuryArchives.”

Whether you are interested in the history of Bury or want to research your family’s past, Bury Archives Service is ready to help. For more information visit https://www.bury.gov.uk/archives

For more information about Bury Remembers the First World War visit https://buryculture.wordpress.com/

ENDS

Press release issued: 31 October 2018.

Picture: The original letter sent to the widow of Private Fred Walker whose obituary was printed in the Bury Times in 1917.