Jersey compiling new list of war dead

A new Roll of Honour is being created to recognise the ultimate sacrifice of more than 500 Jerseymen missed off the original list of Great War dead.

In 1919, the names of 862 servicemen who died between 1914 and 1918 were placed on a scroll, which now sits in a special container on top of the Cenotaph in St Helier, the island's main town.

However, the work of the Channel Islands Great War Study Group (CIGWSG) has led to the identification of more than 500 Jerseymen who died, but whose sacrifice was not recorded on the role. One of those not included was Private Howard Davis, the son of T B Davis, who died of his wounds aged 21 on 12 August 1916. It was in his honour that his father gave land and money to Jersey, which was used, among other things, for the creation of Howard Davis Park and Howard Davis Farm.

The huge task of creating a complete list has been undertaken by a handful of people who are members of the CIGWSG.

One of those members, local historian and author Ian Ronayne, explained that the original roll was put together in some haste using information from various sources, including people who offered information about relatives and others they knew about.

Consequently, those who had no relatives were often omitted. Ronayne said that it was very important to create a new database so that the part played by the soldiers who died was not forgotten.

He explained that the new roll contained the names of those who died in the British and French armies and of those who had recently emigrated to places like Australia and Canada, but returned home to sign up.

Some of those have come to light as a result of the recent research are not even included on the list of war dead held by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The new roll is available to view on the CIGWSG