A brave band of Melton men

‘Our Unforgotten Debt - recognising the deeds and sacrifices of the Melton Mowbray and District Territorials 1914-1918’ has been written by town war historian Derek Simmonds.

The book recounts the untold tales of how Melton Territorials faced up to the terrors and the hardships of fighting in the First World War.

In August 1914 when war was declared, 129 men of the Melton & District Territorials ‘C’ Company of the 1/5th Leicestershire Regiment marched to war.

Their contribution to the war effort and their sacrifices have largely gone unrecognised in previous books.

But this one compiles multiple sources, including a first-hand battlefield journal which tells their story and will help ensure their deeds are not forgotten.

The book touches on a number of further topics, including their journeys home and the care they received.

It also covers the letters the men sent home and the impact of the dreaded telegram from the War Office telling relatives their loved one had been killed in action.

The battlefield journal is unique in the way it identifies the boys by name, who they were, where they lived and the jobs they were doing before the war. It also describes the steady war of attrition and names casualties who fell, in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Copies of the book are available to buy at the museum in Thorpe End.