In 2014, at the time of Abingdon’s annual Heritage Week, an exhibition was held, in the town centre Community Shop, commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

Ahead of the exhibition, an appeal was made for photographs and information on men from Abingdon, who had served in the conflict. A great deal of fascinating history and many photographs were brought to our attention. Many of the images were scanned by Abingdon Library, which acted as a most useful collection point.

A valuable resource was ‘The Abingdon (Borough) Roll of Service’ which had been prepared from 1916 onwards. This document records those  who took part in the Great War and includes, where possible, their name, address, rank, military unit, period of service and area of service abroad, and honours if any. The Roll states whether they were wounded or gives the date and circumstances of their death if relevant. However, photographs are not included. Click on the button below to go to the Abingdon Roll of Honour website where details  from the original document have been transcribed and are searchable by surname.

While the exhibition was in progress, Abingdon families were encouraged to bring forward any further photographs and details of their relatives, creating a remarkable collection of images and information about Abingdon people in the Great War.

A further exhibition was mounted in 2019 which again produced an enthusiastic response from Abingdon’s residents.

The Friends of Abingdon Civic Society took on the challenge of bringing this collection to the web so that it is available to researchers, local historians, families and anyone with an interest in this aspect of Abingdon’s past.

This archive can act as a valuable resource which should grow as yet more information is brought forward in the future.