Roll of Honour to Southwick's war dead unveiled at heart of historic village

Southwick Village Green Preservation Society, working with other community groups, have already done much to honour the history of the village.

Now, they’ve unveiled a Southwick at War Roll of Honour on the ancient village green, which lists all the names of the 644 men who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in WWI and WWII.

The close-knit community was devastated during the war, with some families losing four sons and some brothers killed with the same enemy shell.

After painstaking research, a list of the 644 from the village has been recorded for future generations on the panel, which has been installed on the railings of the Green Bean Cafe.

As well as those killed in the world wars, it features names of those from the area who perished in more recent conflicts as well as those who died as the result of their time at war, including Pte Michael Tench, Pte William Pemberton and Cpl Tommy Taylor.

Also included is Sgt Norman Wilkinson, of the The Royal Scots Fusiliers, who was awarded The Military Medal for bravery in battle. He returned to Southwick after the war and worked in the mines and shipyards before dying aged 58 in 1978. As well as being listed in the Roll of Honour, his Military Citation now hangs on the wall of the Green Bean Cafe.

His son, John Wilkinson, was among those who attended the unveiling ceremony. "I’m over the moon to see dad honoured in this way,” he said.

Peter Gibson, chairperson of Southwick Village Green Preservation Society, said: “It was absolutely shocking, for a small place like Southwick, to lose so many men, particularly in World War 1, which was an absolute slaughter.

"In those days, PTSD wasn’t accepted and you can only imagine the strain, tension and anxiety that would have caused. They went through hell and their poor families at home, too. To honour these men is the least we can do.”

Thanks to the research of former Royal Navy serviceman Jim Bryce, more than 100 names were added to the list which previously hadn’t been officially recorded in the roll of honour.

Jim said: “Many of the men on this board have no graves. They only have their name on a war memorial in some far off land. It is right and fitting that they should be remembered in the place that they lived.”

Since its formation, Southwick Village Green Preservation Society has made great progress in honouring Southwick, which was a village in its own right, with the village green dating back more than 1000 years, before becoming part of the Corporation of Sunderland in the 1920s.

In recent years they’ve installed a blue plaque heritage trail at locations including Stoney Lane, Southwick Neighbourhood Youth Project (SNYP), Scots Bank, the Times Inn and on the Southwick Superstore and the post office.

The latter plaque marks a tragedy which scarred the close-knit community when, in 1917, a Royal Flying Corps bi-plane crashed into the Co-op building at the side of the green, killing five people. The youngest victim was just 11-years-old.