The 66 Men of Grandpont, 1914-18

Click here to see other photographs of the St Matthew's Church First World War memorial, by photographer Philip King.

As part of the 125^th anniversary celebrations of St Matthew's Church in 2015, and to tie in with the 1914-18 centenary commemorations, a group of local volunteers researched the lives of the 66 men from this parish who died in the First World War and whose names are on the memorial in the church. Similar projects have been carried out in other Oxford parishes including our neighbouring parish of New Hinksey.

Here is what we found out about the 66 men of Grandpont (plus a couple of others who are not on the memorial but who we think should have been).

As well as these webpages, the 66 Men of Grandpont project involved:

• A 40-minute documentary film which was released in late May 2016. Read more about it here. To watch a short trailer click here and to watch the whole film click here. The film has been shown at lots of venues across the city - click here for details. The film was commended in the Royal Historical Society's 2018 Public History Prize. This national prize recognises work which promotes public understanding of history and communicates a critical understanding of the past. See some of the team receiving the certificate here.
• A poppy trail around Grandpont, which was in place on the streets from 21 June to 5 July 2015 and again from 10 to 24 September 2015, with a poppy and information about each man on the gate or front wall of the house in which he lived before he went to war. Download a trail map showing all the Grandpont houses from which one or more men went to fight here and a list of the 66 men's addresses here. There was also a special trail for children. See photos of the trail and read comments on it from around the world here. The trail posters were also on display in an empty shop window at 117-119 St Aldates (now Sainsbury's) from 1 to 15 November 2015.
• A touring exhibition which was displayed at the Cathedral, Christ Church; the St Margaret's Institute on Polstead Road; the Oxford Town Hall gallery (as part of a larger exhibition about Oxford during the First World War); Oxford University Press in Jericho; the Oxfordshire History Centre in Cowley; the Oxfordshire County Library in Oxford; St Matthew's church; the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock; and the South Oxford Community Centre.
• A Book of Remembrance containing biographies of each of the 66 men. This was dedicated by the then vicar of St Matthew's, Revd Steve Hellyer, on Remembrance Sunday, 13 November 2016, using these specially-composed words of dedication. The book is now on display beneath the First World War memorial, where anyone visiting St Matthew's Church can read it.

You can also:

• Read a poem by writer and local resident Mark Wilkinson, inspired by the 66 Men of Grandpont project.

• Watch a slideshow giving brief details of all 66 men, plus two others who aren't on the memorial but, we think, should be.

• Read newspaper coverage of the 66 Men of Grandpont project in the Oxford Mail andThe Oxford Times.
• Hear about it on Radio Oxford's Nick Piercy show (courtesy of the Nick Piercy show) and on the Kat Orman show (courtesy of the Kat Orman show).
• Read people's comments on the project.
• Download a guide to techniques and sources if you'd like to research your own WWI memorial.

If you know anything about the men from Grandpont who went to fight (both those who died and those who survived), please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The 66 Men of Grandpont project was kindly sponsored by Brasenose College, Christ Church, Four Pillars Hotels, The Greening Lamborn Trust, Maylarch Ltd, New College, Oxford City Council (Hinksey Park Ward), The Queen's College, the St Matthew's Bridge Builder Trust, and the University of Oxford Community Fund.

Bruno Guastalla (composer of the score for the 66 Men of Grandpont 1914-18 film), Simon Haynes (film maker, editor and producer) and Liz Woolley (writer, director and producer) receiving the Royal Historical Society certificate of commendation from Samir Shah, Chief Executive and Creative Director of Juniper TV and Chair of the Geffrye Museum, at the awards ceremony in London in January 2018. Liz Woolley also received a commendation for this South Oxford Local History website . Photo reproduced by permission of the Royal Historical Society. (Click on image to close)