The Girton war memorial, erected after the 1st World War, records the names of the 18 village men killed between 1914 and 1918 and 12 names from the 2nd World War (1939 - 1945).
Girton Village History Group
There have been several groups in the Village which have collected archive materials, and in 1999 the Girton History Group inherited much of the results. The Group was established to produce a Millennium publication for the Village, and identified a collection of letters written during the Second World War as a coherent and manageable project. Since then it has worked on a second volume of wartime memories.
Membership of the Group is open to anyone interested in Girton's history. So far the Group has concentrated exclusively on its two publications and meetings have focused on production, which has limited active membership to those interested in the war years, but anyone with a historical interest is invited to contact the Secretary for more details.
In practice the Group is run by its three Officers who are currently:
Chairman:
Douglas de Lacey
Secretary: Margaret Parnwell
Treasurer: Robin Scrine
The first project of the Group was the editing and publication of an archive of letters written during the Second World War. They were begun by the leaders of the Young Men's Group, Freddie Barrett and Horace Bradfield, to provide news to former members of the Group serving in the Forces. Ill health forced Mr Bradfield to withdraw from the venture, but for two and a half years Mr Barrett continued to write his circular which was sent to all service man and women from the Village.
The collection, illustrated with contemporary photographs, was published by the Group on Remembrance Day 2001 under the title Keeping in Touch. This publication was helped by a generous grant from the Millennium Fund (renamed Awards for All).
Following on this success, the Group managed to win a second grant from Awards for All, and worked on a wider history of the Village in the War, which included replies received by Mr Barrett, memories of then residents of the Village, and information gleaned from Parish Council Minutes as well as other materials. This book was published in 2003, again on Remembrance Day. For more information, see the flier describing the book or contact any member of the Group.
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History
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The Girton war memorial, erected after the 1st World War, records the names of the 18 village men killed between 1914 and 1918 and 12 names from the 2nd World War (1939 - 1945).
