Lives of the First World War

3/4/96 After receiving the bad news from the MOD that Jack’s service record no longer existed, I felt that my leads were drying up. Undeterred, I decided to visit Windsor Library. I had a vague idea of checking parish registers or seeing if they had a roll of honour for local men. I found the “Ken Shepherd Archive”. This is an archive of information of all the men from Windsor commemorated on war memorials around Windsor, who died in the Great War. I couldn’t find H. J. Shanks. I found H. J. Sparks, listed between J. Scarlett and H. F. Sharp. This is where H. J. Shanks is listed on the town memorial. I thought that somebody had recorded the name incorrectly. On 3rd April, I visited the Royal Borough Collection of Windsor. I was given a great welcome. Many of the men in the archive have a lot of information. Ken Shepherd spent many years writing to the CWGC about names and scanning the local newspaper. The entry for H. J. Sparks has very little information. Fortunately, I can amend this information (like other people who have obviously added to the archive). Some records have photographs and details of the battle in which the soldier died. I did find a Roll of Honour from the “Windsor and Eton Express”. It was a list of Old Boys and Masters of the Royal Free Church School Bachelors Acre who were serving with the colours as of 29th Jan 1916. J. Shanks is on the list. Ken also used the Rolls of Honour from the “Windsor and Eton Express” in his research. There are many rolls of honour in the paper headed “Windsor Men”. Jack appeared on a complete list published 9th January 1915. H. Shanks Oxon and Bucks L.I. Ken had no way of knowing that he was from Windsor. I’m sure he saw J. Shanks on the roll of honour from the school, but since no J. Shanks appeared to be on a memorial, he didn’t take it any further. It should be mentioned that a private A. Sparks left Windsor on 7th Aug 1914 with “D” Company, Royal Berkshire Regiment, 4th Batt (TA). Ken wrote to CWGC with his list #21. He got a reply dated 12/2/85 stating that they had no definite information on H. J. Sparks (see Appendix 11). 5/4/96 I am more aware of the importance of recording every piece of information. In the past, even the smallest clues have helped me immensely. According to my father, Jack’s paybook was bloodstained when it was returned to his family. Dad also reckons that there were many letters and papers concerning Jack. However, his mother was a gypsy and tradition is to burn everything when somebody dies. This is bad news for me but more incentive to ensure that his life is recorded properly. I sent a letter to CWGC today because they asked me to forward the copy of James Shanks’ death certificate. They are going to look into the matter. I contacted the archivist for the John Lewis Partnership which Caleys is a part of. (Jack had worked for Caleys prior to joining the army). Unfortunately, they don’t have any records of employees from that period. It is nearly time to compile this information into a readable document. I will deposit a concise version with the RBC in Windsor. Like the Ken Shepherd Archive, this story will remain alive. I have come a long way from knowing his name and regiment. However, I will continue until I find out exactly where he died and how. In the meantime, I will ensure that the confusion concerning his death certificate is rectified. Almost all the villages and towns in Britain have a war memorial. Many are in a central location e.g. the market square or the village green. They are a constant reminder of the dead. The message is similar “to our illustrious dead” or “our fallen heroes”. Below are the names of the young men. Many are probably forgotten. At the time, they represented a sizeable proportion of the town’s young male population. Nowadays, their descendants [if any] probably live elsewhere. About 10 percent of males under the age of 45 were killed during the war. They were referred to as the “flower of England” or “the lost generation”. In smaller, close-knitted communities the grief of so many men never returning was immense. A higher birth rate and a lower infant mortality rate, coupled with improvements in medicine, prepared the dent in the population figures within a couple of years. Dennis Winter refers to the National Census in 1921. In Hertfordshire numbers within age groups were compared between 1911 and 1921. There was a deficit in 1921 of the 2-9 and the 20-39 age groups, but there was a substantial compensating bulge in the 0-1 age group. “It is as if death and suffering in war are statistically insignificant.”

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