PEOPLE with stories or photographs of Surrey in the Great War are being urged to help create a lasting digital memorial to the county’s role during the conflict.

Surrey Heritage has launched a new website – surreyinthegreatwar.org.uk – to document residents’ experiences during the First World War – both on the home front and battlefields overseas.

Over the next three years the website aims to publish thousands of stories from Surrey towns, villages, organisations and individuals to serve as an enduring record of the county’s contribution to protecting Britain 100 years ago.

The website is the centrepiece of Surrey in the Great War: A County Remembers, a four-year First World War commemoration project launched by Surrey Heritage and funded with a grant of almost £460,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which was announced last year.

People of all ages are invited to post memories, photographs, letters and records chronicling the impact of the war years on the county. They will also be able to search through the website’s records from the period including indexes to local newspapers to find out more about wartime life in the county.

Volunteers from communities across Surrey will be encouraged to add the names of men and women listed on the county’s hundreds of war memorials and tell their individual stories where possible.

As well as preserving the heroism of those in the forces, a major focus will be the experiences of those on the home front who faced food shortages, regular air raids and, in some cases, learning of devastating personal losses.

By November 2018, when commemorations of the 100th anniversary of WWI draw to a close, the website aims to have become a major and enduring tribute to the sacrifices and suffering of Surrey’s people a century ago.

Richard Walsh, the county council’s member for localities and community, said: “This ambitious project will create for future generations an enduring digital record of Surrey’s contribution to the first global war in human history and we warmly welcome the grant which has made it possible. Thousands of men from Surrey alone died in the First World War and the lives of many on the home front were changed beyond recognition. As we commemorate the war’s centenary, we would urge residents past and present to share their stories and memories to deepen our understanding of the part played by our county.”

HLF South East head Stuart McLeod said: “The centenary commemorations are giving us new insights into the impact of WWI on every part of the UK. Resources such as this, will be invaluable for recording and sharing this new research, ensuring that the memories and experiences of wartime Surrey will be remembered for many years to come.”

The project wants to hear about Surrey as it was configured at the time of the war – when the London boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Sutton and Richmond were still part of the county. Notable stories are still emerging and the project hopes to uncover more.

Recent stories brought to light include insights into the life of renowned war poet Wilfred Owen, who trained at Witley North Camp, in 1916, where he wrote a precursor to his famous ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth.”