Introduction 

War is a Jealous God

Welcome ! The main body of the site is the Roll of Honour which is an on going project, I am trying to get as much detail about each man as I can, so this page is continually being updated. The main reason for this site is simply to remember and remind the people of Sittingbourne & Milton Regis of the great sacrifice our town made during the Great War.

I have always had an interest in history and am particularly interested in the Great War. A few years ago I was reading an old copy of the local paper and found the sad story of the death of Reuben Shrubsall and decided to find out who these men were that we remember every November the eleventh, it was as simple as that really ! ....But then it snowballed !!

I have tried not to express my opinions throughout the site, as I think 1914-18 was a different world with different values and they didn't have the advantage of hindsight. Having said that, please don't view these men as victims. They were not. They were fighting for their Country and Families. They were ordinary men who happened to born at a time when they would have to leave their trades and go off to fight. This is something that happened on a regular basis (though not on this scale). It is only my generation that has had the great fortune in not having to go to War. This great fortune was paid for with the blood of these men and their sons twenty years later. Because we, the allies, made such a mess of creating the peace at Versailles. Read for yourselves of their suffering. Consider their ages. Some of the families mentioned in this site lost 2 or 3 sons. Some lost only sons and many children lost Fathers.

I hope some of you find details about members of your own families on this site, or are inspired to find out about them yourselves. The Sittingbourne we know today is a very different one to the Sittingbourne of 1914. For example, the population of the town in 1907 (nearest recorded date) was around 9000 souls. Milton Regis's population was about 8000.I should explain to those of you from afar that Sittingbourne and Milton Regis are really two separate towns, Milton having the longer history. But Sittingbourne boomed in the industrial revolution and swallowed Milton into its suburbs. During the 14-18 war Milton still had its own council and was desperately fighting to remain independent of the young upstart next door!

There are details of over 400 men on this site. They are not the total losses, it's just the ones I have found. Many of the men don't appear on any town memorial for one reason or another. The soldiers name had to be submitted by his family to be included on the Memorial and if the family had moved away or didn't want the soldiers name on the Memorial then it wouldn't automatically be included.

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Empire Day 1916 (found in my loft)

I have tried to verify all the information on this site before publishing it, However, I am not a professional researcher, so if you think I have made a mistake and can verify it, let me know as the last thing I want to do is mislead anyone. Many Pictures published on this site are with the kind permission of THE EAST KENT GAZETTE. Some have been emailed to me by relatives from all over the world...If you have any information about any of the men listed or not listed please email me.

One last point. This site is based on my interest in World War One ... It is most certainly not intended to ignore the sacrifices made by the Sittingbourne & Milton men in World War Two and later conflicts.

An Appeal.... Do You have, tucked away in the loft or the back of a cupboard, any old photos of any of these men either in uniform or not... Please scan them and send me a copy if you would like to see your relative on this site.

stevemcgarry@btinternet.com