A free exhibition will honour the 1,163 men and women whose names are inscribed on Harrogate war memorial.
The exhibition will open in West Park United Reformed Church on September 1, 100 years to the day after the memorial was unveiled in Prospect Square.
It will run until Remembrance Sunday on November 12.
The memorial bears the names of local men and women who lost their lives in two world wars.
Twenty died on the same day; the youngest was just 15 and one person died after being kicked by a mule.
The multi-media exhibition, called More than a name on a Memorial, will bring their stories to life.
The stories will draw heavily on research conducted by local historian and former army reservist Graham Roberts, who has been researching the names for years.
Local resident Terry Williams, who was responsible for a recent exhibition telling the story of Harrogate’s railways, is curating the exhibition, which is being organised by the newly-formed Harrogate War Memorial Project Group.
The group includes members of various local voluntary organisations, including Harrogate Civic Society, the Royal Hall Restoration Trust and Harrogate and District Improvement Trust.
Nigel McClea, chair of the project group, said:
“Thanks to herculean efforts over many years by local historian Graham Roberts, all 1163 names have been researched and much has been discovered and recorded including military units, war records, photographs, cause of death, date of death and place of burial, although more than 300 of the First World War names inscribed have no known grave.
“This on-going research will form the core of the exhibition but thanks to support from North Yorkshire library service, through Harrogate Library, we are now in a position to seek out family stories and memories.”
Walter Ogden
The research has thrown up many fascinating questions. Mr McClea said:
“For example, would 2/Lt Walter Ogden have joined his family firm Ogden of Harrogate, the town’s historic jewellers still to be found on James Street? We’ll never know, he died in 1917 aged just 19 at the Battle of Cambrai.
“2/Lt Donald Bell VC, the first English professional footballer to join the army in World War I, had signed his first professional contract with Second Division Bradford Park Avenue in 1912 aged 22. Would he have ever played for a First Division club? We’ll never know. He died aged 25 in the Battle of the Somme.
“These are just two stories from 1163. We would love to hear from anyone with an ancestor named on the memorial who might have photographs, or recollections of their experiences which might have been passed on through the generations.
“We would also love copies of things such as letters home or letters they received from home, extracts from diaries, battle orders or telegrams and anything about what these brave people did before going to war.”
Copies of letters, extracts from diaries, written recollections and photographs can be emailed to Harrogate.Library@northyorks.gov.uk with the subject line ‘More than a name on a Memorial’ or taken into the library for copying.
Further details of the war memorial centenary programme of events will be available next month.
Read more:
- Ex-soldier from Harrogate researches 1,000 names on war memorial
- Ex-soldier from Harrogate researches 1,000 names on war memorial
Harrogate Photographic Society to show historic photos
Harrogate Photographic Society has announced plans for its 100th anniversary, which include showcasing historic images of the town as well as photos from the early days of Ukraine’s independence.
The society was founded on October 23, 1922 and was originally based at a shop on King’s Road.
Mike Hudson, the society’s president for its centenary year, said:
“There were seven members originally but that rapidly expanded… and it took off big time from then.”
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A team from the society has gone through the image archives at Harrogate Library and North Yorkshire County Council to find pictures from that time.
Many images have been lost but the ones which remain are set to be digitised and displayed to the public in the near future.
Mr Hudson said they were hoping to preserve elements of Harrogate’s history. He added:
“When someone passes away, the sons, daughters and relatives… [put photos] in the bin or in the skip and they’re lost forever. We’re very lucky to have just a few photographs and prints that have survived.”
There are also plans for a special presentation alongside local jewellers Ogden of Harrogate about the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt in 1922.
JR Ogden was tasked with advising archaeologist Howard Carter on the jewels and gold found within the tomb.
The covid pandemic was a challenge for the group, Mr Hudson admitted, with its meetings having to be held online.
However, he hoped that people would now be encouraged to return and meet the photographers in-person.
Some of the society members’ photos (photos: Harrogate Photographic Society)
Photos from Ukraine
Following the look at Harrogate’s past, the society will hear from globally renowned photographers including Tim Smith and Paul Haley.
Mr Smith will discuss his time spent in Ukraine and Russia in 1991, when Ukraine voted to declare independence from the Soviet Union.
Mr Haley, a war photographer, will be sharing his photos for the Falklands War, the 40th anniversary of which was this year.
Mike Hudson believed that each photographer brought something different in terms of their work. He said:
Harrogate’s link to the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb, 100 years ago“Each photographer has something special to say themselves. They each excel in the genres of photography they take.”
Did you know Harrogate has a fascinating connection to the tomb of Tutankhamen, which was discovered 100 years ago this month?
Harrogate Library has shared the story behind King Tut and James Ogden, who opened the jewellers in Harrogate in 1893.
According to researchers at the library, Ogden had a passion for archaeology and his specialism was Egyptology.
He was a prolific letter writer and wrote with Howard Carter for many years, the man who eventually would discover the tomb in 1922.
When Carter discovered the tomb, he invited Ogden to the Valley of the Kings as part of his team of experts and the Harrogate jeweller was one of the first people in over 3,000 years to visit inside.
He even owned two phials with consecration fluid from the tomb.
James Ogden
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Ogden gave lectures about his travels and it was reported in the local press that he had some “extremely fine” slides showing the actual handling of the mummy.
He also ensured that his shop on James Street could meet the demand for Egyptian-inspired jewellery, which was all the rage in the 1920s and 30s.
Harrogate Library was bequeathed some of the glass slides owned by James Ogden and staff say one of their projects this year will be looking at how they can make them more accessible to the public.
