World War 1 Project
Detailed information
A series of 12 booklets covering various aspects of the war’s impact in and around Holmes Chapel can be found here
Pen portraits of the men who went to war
A pen portrait has been written for each of the 225 men who went to war. Some of these are detailed but in other cases we could find only limited information. They can be found here
World War 1 Exhibition
Click here for a video of the World War 1 Exhibition mounted by the group in August 2014.
World War I and The Story of Holmes Chapel
At the time of the First World War there were 1257 inhabitants of Church Hulme which included the townships of Holmes Chapel, Cotton and Cranage. St Luke’s Church in Holmes Chapel served parish which contains the illuminated Roll of Honour listing the men who joined the services during the war. Information is also available from the Parish Magazines of the time which reported on news about the serving men. There are 211 men listed on the Roll of Honour and a further 14 men mentioned in the Parish Magazines with connections to Church Hulme.. A total of 225 men are mentioned representing the contribution to the war effort from this small community. Of these 31 were killed in action, died of wounds or infection. Only 29 of these men are listed on the war memorial, the remaining two being commemorated elsewhere. The project has worked to identify as many of these men, their connections with the village and what happened to them before, during and after the war. For further details follow the link to "Pen Portraits" on the left.
As well as contributing manpower to the war there were many changes to day to day life in the village. For example, the local agricultural college had to train women to work on the farms. At Somerford Hall just outside the village a military hospital was established and the village provided accommodation for Belgian refugees. There were sewing groups set up to provide bandages and clothes for the troops and there were fund raising activities. In other respects life went on as normal and much information is available in the Parish Magazines and local newspapers. The social effect on Holmes Chapel is a story worth telling.