Lest We Forget: our miners and the Great War

The National Coal Mining Museum for England will host Lest We Forget, a series of talks, starting off with author Scott Flaving, who will speak about ‘The West Riding Regiment on the Somme, 1916’.

He will be followed by Christine Hewitt, who will be covering ‘Ordinary Sitlington folks in extraordinary times’.

The afternoon’s talks will be given by historian David Scriven on ‘Ossett in the First World War’ and Brian Web, who will talk about ‘Sitlington miners who did not come back from the Western Front.’

Anisha Christison, museum librarian, said: “This event will bring together local communities and specialist groups to share, learn and discover more about their own personal history.

“We are looking forward to welcoming a variety of visitors and assisting them with their ancestry queries by making use of our extensive library store. With a range of stalls, talks and experts available to talk to, we hope that everyone will experience an enjoyable and thought-provoking day.”

The event is part of the Parish of Middlestown with Netherton project A Parish at War: how the Great War affected Sitlington’s men, women and children. Partly funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund, the event will also offer visitors a chance to discover their ancestry and browse a number of stalls relating to local history, family history, research areas and the war.

It will take place on Saturday, March 19 from 10am to 4pm.

The event is free but booking is essential. Call 01924 848806. For more information about the Overton museum, visit www.ncm.org.uk