We will remember them

This Thursday is Armistice day. Armistice was an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War. To this day at 11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month we collectively pause for a moment to reflect and remember those who died fighting in the First World War.

By the end of the 1st World War almost 1 million British soldiers, sailors and airmen had lost their lives. Another nearly two million people had been permanently disabled. It is estimated that 13,726 people from Merseyside alone were killed in the First World War.

Although the FIrst World War was fought predominately on land, it wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts made at sea. Wirral shipbuilders Cammell Laird, based in Birkenhead, provided vital repairs to damaged ships so that they could get back out into service. The impact of the work done at Cammell Laird was seen as of such importance to the war that experienced workers were not allowed to sign up to fight in the military as they couldn’t be replaced.

The efforts made and the lives lost by the people of Wirral, Merseyside, the UK and Commonwealth should never be forgotten.

The memory of the First World War may well have been lost to the lives of people today but that is why we still pause at 11am on the 11th November every year to think about the lives that were lost and the impact of war had on the communities that lost them.

To find out more about Wirral’s role and history in the First World War History Press