Remembering Herne Hill 1914-18 was a volunteer-run project that mapped the addresses and researched the stories of over 500 local men (and two women) killed in the First World War. The Herne Hill Society, of which I was Chair, was awarded £5,200 from the National Heritage Lottery Fund in 2016.

Until recently, the true scale of the area’s loss in the First World War was not known. There was no civic war memorial, although there are several church-based and small community memorials.

This website holds the details of 555 fatalities. See http://memorial.hernehillsociety.org.uk

An unexpected bonus was the discovery of a previously unknown memoir by a young woman, Grace Lucas, who grew up in Herne Hill before, during, and immediately after the war. Grace’s father, Fred Lucas, was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, leaving a widow and five young children. A book, Grace’s Story, was published by the Herne Hill Society in 2018.

A specially commissioned war memorial, designed and carved on Welsh slate by Mark Brooks, was unveiled by Helen Hayes MP at Herne Hill Station on Sun 10 November 2019. This memorial was financed by Southeastern Railway. You can read about it on this blog.