Swindon in the Past Lane

The first time I went to one of Mark's Great War talks I came away feeling as if I personally knew the men he had mentioned.  He told the story of the battles they fought in and the ones that claimed them, but it was not all about their military service. Mark talked about the men and their life before the Great War - the street where they lived; the family fish shop on the corner; the railway factory where so many of them worked; their sweethearts, wives and children. These men were not just a regimental number, a casualty, missing, killed in action, they were someone's son, someone's husband, a father, a brother. Some fought for freedom, some volunteered for an adventure, no one came home unchanged, so many never came home at all - and Mark introduces you to everyone of them. Remembering Swindon's sons who served has been a lifetime commitment for Mark. In 2006 he published Tell Them of Us, but his work has continued since then. Just last month he has been...

As local and national plans to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War are discussed, here is a look back at how Swindon marked the 90th anniversary of the end of the Great War, a war to end all wars. More than 3,000 people visited the BBC Wartime Discovery Day at Swindon's STEAM museum on Saturday November 8, 2008. With more experts under one roof then you could shake a stick at, there was plenty of advice on what records are currently available and how to access them. One of the highlights of the day was a talk given by local historian Mark Sutton who has set himself the task of commemorating the men of Swindon who fought in the First World War. Mark, who grew up in Redcliffe Street, has a breathtaking knowledge of his subject and quoted facts and figures with effortless ease. "The BBC have asked me if I would talk for about half an hour but I've got enough here for three hours," he joked. With a wealth of personal detail, the slideshow pre...