THE families of soldiers from Stapleford who were killed during the First World War gathered to remember their sacrifices at a service in the town.
The ceremony at St Helen's parish church yesterday paid tribute to the 188 men whose names are inscribed on a plaque inside the place of worship.
Surviving relatives of some of the men attended the service, having travelled from across the country to be there.
Judith Brown, of Milton Keynes, was there to remember her great grandfather's brother, Ernest Hardy, who was born in Pinfold Lane, Stapleford, in 1895.
She said: "He joined the Northumberland Fusiliers in 1914 after joining up of his own free will.
"He started out as a private and fought in the Battle of Loos in France, where he was injured. It seems he made a full recovery and returned to duty, joining the later stages of the Battle of the Somme.
"From there he was transferred to Ypres and promoted to the rank of acting sergeant in late 1916.
"Shortly afterwards he was killed in action on November 9, 1916."
Judith, 52, was joined by her sister Susan Baxter, 49, who said she wanted to attend the ceremony out of respect for her great great uncle.
She added: "It's taken us a long time to establish anything about Ernest's life. We knew people from the family had been killed, but not much more than that.
"We know that the family found it too difficult to talk about at the time, so we wanted to remember him now."
Judith and Susan's uncle, also called Ernest Hardy, attended the service as well.
He was named after his great uncle.
The 75-year-old said: "Days like this make me feel very proud to have been named after such a brave man."
Ernest Hardy senior also had two brothers, Joseph, who died shortly after the war from ill health, and Percy, who lived until his 70s.
The church's vicar, Reverend Peter Huxtable, said the service aimed to unite the families of the men from Stapleford who gave their lives for the service of their country.
He said: "We wanted to do something to commemorate the anniversary of the First World War, particularly as we have this plaque that was built as a memorial to these men.
"I don't think anything has been done officially for them so we thought it was about time.
"I also thought it would be good for the people of Stapleford – we've got a good community spirit here."
Stapleford town council also helped organise the event.
Town clerk Margaret Downie said: "We wanted to give people an opportunity to meditate and think about the people from this town who fell during the war.
"It means a lot that some of the families wanted to come along to remember their relatives."
