WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
The men of Tavistock who died in the First World War

About Tavistock

The town of Tavistock occupies a unique position between two majestic natural features, Dartmoor and the River Tamar. Its site, on the fast flowing River Tavy, was decided in the year 974, when a Benedictine Abbey was founded here. Outside of the Abbey gates a community grew up, which, in time, gained market rights (c1106) and borough status, enjoying parliamentary representation from 1295 until 1885. As a result of the dissolution of the monasteries, by king Henry VIII, the closing of Tavistock Abbey in 1539 ushered in a period of four centuries in which the fortunes of the town were closely associated with those of the successive Dukes of Bedford. The influence of this family ceased in 1911 when the family sold the majority of its property in and around the town in order to meet death duties.

Economically, Tavistock's earliest success was based on agriculture. Its roles as a market-town, and as a centre of local cloth manufacture and its surrounding tin and copper mining industries, have also helped to define its identity. Closely associated with Sir Francis Drake, who was born at a farm on the outskirts of the town in 1541, today the town is home to some 10,000 people. To a great many others its distinctive Georgian and Victorian architecture and its flourishing Pannier Market make it a popular place to visit.

"In a remarkable tribute to Tavistock's fallen heroes, two local historians have compiled detailed profiles of nearly 120 men whose ultimate sacrifice is recorded in a new book, appropriately called 'We Will Remember Them'."
Western Morning News, Jan. 13th 2004
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Alex Mettler & Gerry Woodcock are the authors of this book. Both are active local historians.... more

Links to other local history and WW1 websites... more

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