To
gain an overview of all the towns and parishes covered,
and hopefully to be covered, by this site there is
an alphabetical
index.
Much
information about soldiers who fell, were awarded
medals and more is to be found in old copies of the
London
Gazette. Here is a brief resume:
The
London Gazette, first published in 1665, is the
oldest, continuously published newspaper in the
United Kingdom and probably the world. The London
Gazette and its sister publications, the Edinburgh
and Belfast Gazettes, have a unique position in
British publishing. They are official newspapers
of the Crown. The London Gazette contains a wide
range of office notices including State, Parliamentary
and Ecclesiastical notices, Transport and Planning
notices as well as Corporate and Personal Insolvency
notices to name a few. In addition, a number of
Supplements are published covering Honours and Awards,
Premium Bonds, Armed Forces Promotions and Re-gradings,
Companies' information, etc. and a Quarterly Index.
In
the 17th century, it was believed that National
efficiency depended on the intelligence received
by the Crown and that the reckless publishing of
news might endanger it. An embargo on the printing
of news other than reports of events abroad, natural
disasters, Royal declarations and sensational crime
continued until 1640. This had the effect of delaying
the development of the press in the UK. Censorship
was introduced in 1643, followed by licensing of
news publications. The Gazette came about because
of two momentous events: the Great Plague and the
decision of King Charles II to remove his court
- effectively the government of the time - to Oxford.
The London Gazette started life as the Oxford Gazette
and after a few months changed to its current title.
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Some
of the cap
badges are laid out, on a separate page.
Not
all memorials were to people; there are memorials
to various types of animal that served and fell
in World War I for example, dogs.
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