THEY are Southampton’s forgotten heroes who fought and died for their country but their names are missing from the city’s memorial to the fallen.

Today the Daily Echo launches a campaign to Find the Forgotten and ensure they are remembered - forever.

Working with the city council, we want anyone who knows of a serviceman from the city who is not included to contact us to make sure their names are added.

There are currently 3,298 names on the memorial wall at Southampton Cenotaph, listing servicemen who died in action during the First and Second World Wars and other conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries.

• See all the names on the Southampton Cenotaph >>

There are 2,368 servicemen who died in the First World War, 927 who died in the Second World War and three who were killed in other conflicts after 1918.

Yet there are others who fought in those wars but whose names are not recorded on the wall.

And now, a century on from the Great War, the Daily Echo is looking to find these forgotten servicemen and make sure they are remembered alongside their comrades in arms.

Alongside the council we are appealing to find the names of servicemen who died in conflict over the last century and have them included on the memorial wall in 2018 - the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

The council hopes to raise £10,000 is a separate appeal to pay for the names of up to 100 servicemen to be added to the memorial.

Satvir Kaur, city council cabinet member for communities, culture and leisure, said: “One hundred years on, either through our own family history, our local communities or its long-term impact on society, we are all connected in some way to the First World War.

“To mark the centenary of the Armistice in 1918, we would like to add as many missing names as possible to the Cenotaph War Memorial wall to ensure those who gave so much for our country are remembered for their sacrifice.

“Southampton is a vibrant and diverse city with all our communities having contributed to the war effort by fighting together, and they continue to serve our city and country.

“I am grateful that the Daily Echo, who have stood with the people of Southampton throughout both the world wars, have agreed to help us ‘find the forgotten’ in this important project.”

Jim France, area manager for the Royal British Legion in Hampshire, backed the campaign.

He said: “It’s about keeping the beacon going and remembering people is crucial.

“If we don’t remember the past you are doomed to repeat those mistakes and those people who give their lives should not be put on a shelf and forgotten.

“It’s important to keep it going and it’s important for those who serve today to remember that we are not going to forget them.

“That sense of remembrance is important.”

PROFILE: Arthur Charles Barton

ARTHUR Charles Barton was one of thousands of servicemen who left Southampton to fight in the Great War - but never returned.
And unlike many of his comrades his name was not recorded on the city cenotaph or the memorial wall.
Born in the city in 1891, he is known to have lived in Lyon Street in 1901 alongside his parents Arthur and Selina Barton, his younger brother William and his sisters Lilly and Annie.
The family moved to York Street and Arthur worked as a labourer in the city.
It is believed that he was conscripted into the army between January and September in 1916 and e served in the 5th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. In April 1917 Pte Barton’s battalion was involved in an offensive known as the Battle of Arras. He was killed aged 26 or 27 - among 160,000 Allied and 125,000 German losses during the battle.
His tale was forgotten until grandfather Ray Proudley, pictured, discovered the memorial plaque, known as a “dead man’s penny”, which was sent to his family after his death while helping his brother-in-law clear out his house in Liverpool Street.
He is backing the Daily Echo’s campaign so Private Barton and others like him can be remembered on the city’s memorial wall.
Mr Proudley, from Lover in the New Forest, said: “The freedom I enjoy is built on the back of those brave enough to serve their country in armed conflicts.

“The least we can do is pay our respects and teach future generations what war really means in the hope that they will be able to find better ways than the slaughter of many young men and women."
“I feel a particular affinity with Pte. Barton since he answered the nation’s call to arms at the same time as my grandfather. 
“He was the same age and like my grandfather grew up in a working class household in Southampton. 
“My Grandfather came home or, of course, I would not be here today. 
“I wholeheartedly support the Echo and your efforts to bring this issue to the attention of the public.”

 

WHAT IS THE CRITERIA?

To nominate a serviceman you know of whose name is not on the memorial wall email newsdesk@dailyecho.co.uk The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2018, with work set to be completed on the memorial by November of that year.

For the First World War both those who lived within the 1920 Borough boundaries and areas outside it such as Bassett, Bitterne, Bitterne Manor, Bitterne Park, Itchen, Midanbury, Millbrook, Peartree Green, Redbridge, Sholing, Swaythling, Thornhill, Weston and Woolston at the time of the conflict will be eligible.

Servicemen from those areas will be accepted on the memorial wall as there is not enough space on individual memorials to take new names. By 1939 the city boundary has increased to include those areas, and nominations from them and the rest of the city are welcomed for the Second World War or later conflicts.