THE servicemen of St Mary Bourne will be marked in a special exhibition later this month.

Laura Sykes and members of the St Mary Bourne History Group have delved into the village’s past and uncovered a wealth of tales about those who fought in the First World War.

The exhibition will focus on the impact of the Great War on the village and each of the 220 soldiers, sailors and airmen who are recorded on the Roll of Honour.

Group coordinator Laura said: “I have been doing nothing but since 2014, the Roll of Honour gives you a surname and an initial and I am doing this 100 years later and although some of the same families still live in the village, a lot of them are not, so some have been difficult to identify.”

Through her previous genealogy work of the Bourne Valley Laura has managed to track down many names and with the help of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Now she has managed to track down all but 15 names on the memorial.

“I am very proud of the work, I wanted to spark interest in the village of the history and to build an archive to leave to the next person who turns up with an interest,” Laura added.

All of the servicemen have been commemorated with their own folder, displaying copies of their medal cards, service record where available, and biographical details.

Many of the personnel had village connections dating back hundreds of years, but others who were born in St Mary Bourne but, as they had left the village by the time of war, were not included in the memorial, have also been included.

The exhibition will run from November 12 to 17 in the St Mary Bourne Village Centre Club Room, between 10am and noon and 2pm and 5pm.

There will also be presentations each morning at 11am.