Regiment backs Shropshire Roll of Honour campaign
An army regiment has thrown its support behind a new campaign to produce a new Roll of Honour featuring the names of all the fallen soldiers from Shropshire who died in the First World War.
Members of the 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment – and their mascot Finn the Irish Wolfhound – visited St Chad's Church in Shrewsbury on Monday to help launch a new text donation facility for the campaign.
Special services to remember Shropshire's war dead will also take place later this year as part of the 100th anniversary commemorations of the start of the conflict.
The regiment, which is based at Tern Hill, is supporting the work of the church, which is leading a project to establish an updated Roll of Honour for the county featuring the names of all the people from Shropshire who gave their lives during the war.
Mayor of Shrewsbury Councillor Jon Tandy was on hand to launch the new text service.
Claire Crackett, a spokesman for the appeal, said: "I would like to thank Lieutenant Colonel Ivor Gardiner, commanding officer of 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment; Ranger Joel Evangelista, and Patrick O'Rourke for their valuable assistance in launching this new text facility.
"And of course my special thanks to Finn, the lovely Irish Wolfhound.
"We are most grateful for the support of the Mayor of Shrewsbury, Councillor Jon Tandy to the launch of the appeal."
People can donate £1 by texting GWAR14 £1 to 70070.
Donations can also be made through cheques sent to the church office or on the St Chad's website.
Money will be used to create a new leather-bound Roll of Honour.
Organisers also plan to create a number of soft-bound copies that will be distributed around Shropshire, while details will also be made available online.
Two experienced researchers, Phil Morris and Neil Evans, have been hard at work and have already helped identify most of the 8,000 names inscribed on war memorials throughout the county.
However, there are still more than 150 names where no more information has yet been discovered about the dates and places of their deaths.
Organisers of the appeal are asking for people to come forward with the names of the men and women who are featured on the county's war memorials, but whose details were missed off all other official records at the time of their death.
Updated details will then be entered in a new Roll of Honour commemorative book which will be displayed next to the original version.
St Chad's will also be holding special weekly services from August to remember every man and woman who died in World War I as the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the conflict arrives.
From August 27, services will take place at 5pm every Wednesday evening until June 2019.
Father Mark Chadwick, vicar at St Chad's Church said: "We will be holding weekly prayers for the lives lost the week of their centenary in St Chad's.
"This will enable families, friends and anyone who wishes, to reflect and remember the sacrifice made by the men and women of Shropshire."
