A COMMUNITY initiative which is focussing on villagers who fought in the First World War is appealing for information about a memorial once displayed in the village school.

The wooden plaque, listing former pupils killed in the Great War, was unveiled at Kildwick School in 1920.

But its whereabouts are now unknown and a search has started to track it down.

Behind the move is the lottery-funded Farnhill WW1 Volunteers Project, which is researching the lives of those from the community who volunteered to serve in the Great War prior to the introduction of conscription.

The project is examining what the 68 men did before, during and – in the case of those who survived – after the conflict.

Short biographies of each will be prepared and the information will be made widely available.

What life in the village was like a century ago and the social context in which the volunteers lived is also being examined.

Project co-ordinator Graham Taylor is asking anyone who can shed light on the ‘lost’ memorial to come forward.

“We know there was a World War One memorial made for the school as the headmaster of the time – Thomas Appleby – wrote about it in the school log,” he said.

“He described it in some detail and its design was also reported in the local newspapers of the time.

“It was made of carved oak, with brass panels listing the names of the 15 former pupils who were killed in the war – including some of the Farnhill Volunteers. In the centre was a coloured image of St George kneeling.

“The memorial was unveiled in the school at the end of January 1920, the ceremony being attended by many former pupils and local dignitaries.

“What we don’t know is where in the school the memorial was displayed or when it was removed, and we are appealing for anyone who went to Kildwick School and can remember seeing it – or knows what happened to it – to get in touch.

“School staff recently searched the premises, but without success, and conversations with local people who attended the school have so far failed to find anyone who remembers it."

“We’d also like to hear from anybody with old photographs of the interior of the school, showing where the memorial was displayed.”

The project can be contacted by e-mailing farnhillww1volunteers@gmail.com or by writing to Farnhill WW1 Volunteers Project, c/o Kildwick & Farnhill Institute, Main Street, Farnhill, Keighley BD20 9BJ.

For further details about the project, visit farnhill.co.uk.