Corsham’s First World War saw, as it did for so many towns, loss and change. To mark the centenary of the Great War, the Corsham Commemorates group is working to honour those who died, those who fought, and those who stayed behind to keep the home fires burning and support those returning from the Front.
The War Memorial, on Lacock Road, is testament to the losses the town suffered between 1914-1918. Corsham lost 115 men in the First World War, all of whom are remembered on the Memorial, which is the focus point for the town’s Remembrance Service every November. In 2014, the Town Council installed two First World War commemorative benches at the site.
The Batters, a strip of wood land that runs along the railway line between Prospect and Brook Drive, was used by the Scots Guards in 1915 for trench-digging practice before they went to the Front.
From October 1914 until August 1919, the Town Hall became a Red Cross Hospital. A plaque showing many of the names of the local women who worked there, as nurses and volunteers, is still on display.
To find out more about Corsham’s First World War, the men who went to fight and commemorative events taking place, visit Corsham Commemorates’ website.
