Since 2014, when I inadvertently created this website I have continued to spend my time researching for the men of Clayton and Whittle.

In 1914 - 1919 and again in 1939 - 1945, the men of our closely-knit villages of Clayton le Woods and Whittle le Woods would pay the ultimate price for protecting their country.

100 years later the names on the stone are still there, and in recent times a few more names have been added.

We often walk past the memorial, even visiting on Remembrance Day.

We see familiar family names of farmers, calico printers, and weavers from our local mills, shopkeepers, police constables, and many more trades.

Some of the men died of illnesses such as the Spanish flu on their return home, others from training accidents in barracks, gallantly on the battlefield, or as a prisoner of war.

The evidence of all the men's brief family and military history is continuously researched and profiled.  

After expanding the website to include a 1939 - 1945 section, I added the Returned from Duty section which tries to gather as many names as I can find of the men who were too ill, demobilized, injured, or even too young!

Those who lived deserve to be remembered just as much as those who died

Other pages like Military Awards and Mentioned in Despatches and the Publications, Future Projects and Exhibitions, and Life on the Homefront pages have also been added.

I have added and expanded two new pages The County Feuds 1315 - 1323 ONWARDS and 1700 to 1914.

A new Statistics page has been added to examine what the local area was like for population, industry, and employment.

The extra pages have been added because whilst sifting through the pages for WW1 and WW2 local men I came across earlier records and decided to create some new pages to flesh out the local history.

If possible are you able to contribute pictures and information on these names on my website?

Please can you contact me via my details on the contact page?

The Clayton and Whittle at War website's purpose is to help people discover more about the men from our two villages who served in the armed forces.

The aim is to produce an archive about the villages of Clayton le Woods and Whittle le Woods during any period of war including WW1 and WW2.

In addition to telling the story of the men who died, I also do the same for those who returned from duty.

I wish to capture a glimpse into the way the villages were during the dark days of the wars.

It's not just about their service history but also about their families as well

There are several soldiers' names on the Memorial and the Website who are connected to me and likely to you as well

With more names and more history to be researched, I'm busier than ever.

Enjoy discovering Clayton and Whittle at War.

All the Best

John Melling

2024

Thank you so much for visiting the website and please feel free to comment on the Guestbook page

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All information is researched and published (with some special permissions) by John Melling

***Please contact me if you want to use any information to prevent Copyright and Plagiarism issues.

***Please contact me if you want to use any information to prevent Copyright and Plagiarism issues.

Copyright © John Melling, Clayton and Whittle at War 2014-2024