The Never-ending Story
‘Wellington’s War’ is a National Lottery Heritage Fund project exploring the legacy of the First World War in the east Shropshire market town — an inheritance that still resonates loudly one hundred years later.
Its no exaggeration to say that our Twenty First Century lives continue to be profoundly influenced by the Great War in myriad ways but such was the deep shadow cast by the conflict that the events of the era of reconstruction immediately following it have been largely forgotten. Yet, the decisions made in the aftermath, in Wellington and across Britain, had huge consequences for many aspects of our day-to-day — from the houses many of us inhabit, to basic healthcare provision, welfare and education. Wellington’s War is an attempt to redress that balance, shining a light on the forgotten locations and issues that shaped local affairs in 1919 and the always prescient, tumultuous early Twenties.
In the Stories section we’ll endeavour to peer into some of the deeper cracks in the pavement, looking at long forgotten events and the individuals who helped shape the future of Shropshire’s second largest market town. However, we want your help, too! There’s still so much we don’t know about this era, and photographs and recollections of the time following the First World War in Wellington would add much to our understanding of a key period. Another defining local issue of the time was how best to remember the sacrifices of townsfolk that fell, and look after the families they left behind. A number of the commemorations that followed the conflict have been lost in the century since and any information on their whereabouts would be a very welcome development in remembering the sacrifices of a lost generation.
So please check back for regular updates, and we’ll look forward to hearing from you.
