The Project - Aston's WW1 War Dead
This website seeks to identify, from public memorials and publications, the details of those men of Aston who died during World War 1. Each of the Listings gives details of the Aston men from that source. The most significant piece of work to date is identification of the 618 men listed on the WW1 Memorial within Aston Parish Church
The boundaries of Aston used throughout the website are based on those of Aston Registration District of the 1911 census; these are different than those of the present day.
The website puts the research work into the public domain for comment and feedback, particular if in doing so information about men I have been unable to trace, or have missed, can be found. Updates to the listings will be ongoing.
Hello
My name is Dr Ann Hartley and I initiated this project in early 2020, born out of a desire to identify the men on the WW1 Memorial in Aston Parish Church after finding that my own great uncle was not listed. My Hartley family was resident in Aston from the 1870s, and our association with Aston Parish Church through the late 19th and early 20th centuries had been significant, adding a further personal motivation for completing this work.
In the course of the two years spent researching that Memorial I came across other WW1 memorials and information held elsewhere which identified, or had the potential to identify, other Aston men. I decided to extend my research to cover these.
As an amateur family historian for 20 years, and with a keen interest in social history, I have been able to use my science research skills and experience, giving me confidence in the information gained. Since launching this site I have been helped by others, notably from the Birmingham History Forum, so the number of unidentified men on the Aston Church Memorial is now very small. My work on all other Listings is work in progress. My work will continue beyond identifying the men on the various Memorials, with appropriate publications to follow.