Bolton St Catherine’s Academy has successfully bought the WW1 Memorial Board that was originally from the Bolton Municipal County Secondary School, using money they received from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The school will now restore and rehang the memorial board so everyone can view it. As well as that pupils at the Academy and students from 6 local primary schools across Bolton will be able to research their names on the roll of honour. The primary schools involved include:
The research they do will be shared as much as possible, including with the local libraries and local media. The children will be using a variety of mediums to showcase and interpret the stories of the people on the board, like art, literature and drama. There will also be a specific drama event to celebrate all the work that is done with the board. This will be done in conjunction with Young Actors.
In total there are 122 names listed on this board, although it is believed that there may be other people who were involved in the war that aren’t listed. If there are any relatives or descendants of people listed on the board that might be able to help Bolton St Catherine’s with stories of their lives or provide photographs and birth certificates etc, then they are encouraged to get in touch. They particularly welcome people who have knowledge of the lives of staff listed on the board, like Walter Dexter, who was an art teacher.
The Bishop of Manchester is to officially rededicate the WW1 board on Wednesday 15th October at 7.30pm and members of the public are invited to attend the ceremony. It takes place at Bolton St Catherine’s Academy and there’ll be a question and answer session afterwards.
For more information contact the Academy on 01204 332533.
