How did this work come about?

This work began after Paul Wright found a picture of Frank Allgood in the Cambridge newspaper archives. Frank Allgood was one of the six men listed for whom the village did not have a photo, so it seemed appropriate that we remounted the pictures. I volunteered to fix it and while pondering the task ahead, idly wondered how Frank had died. In less than an hour, I had worked out to about a 25-minute window and a few hundred yards, where Frank died, on the first day of the Somme. Even 110 years later, that phrase ‘the first day of the Somme’ resonates with many people. My interest was further piqued by discovering that Frank’s unit, the 11th Suffolks, were right at the centre of the action and suffered enormous losses on those first few days. I also knew enough about military recruiting to think that probably, several other Kingston men might have been in the Suffolks. And so, the research grew.

Reflecting back on the project from the point where we are pulling things together for the ‘launch’, two things drove me to this level of (imperfect) detailed research. The first reason was this was the first time we had reviewed our memorial in the ‘age of the internet’. The popularity of genealogy has made this level of research possible from home and in spare time. To have done this in the 1990s when we last reframed the pictures I suspect would have been a year’s full time work, mostly spent at Kew in the National Archive.

The second was the reflection that this work was probably about a decade too late, and therefore more urgent. The generation that fought in the First World War are long gone; now, we are losing the generation that knew, first-hand, the survivors of that conflict. We are in a period where we have the last few chances to capture family stories, and the remembrance of grandparents from people who are now grandparents themselves. As I worked through the records, it was clear that the population movement caused by the war, the deaths, the marriages out of the village all meant that even 75 years later, when names were first ascribed to the photos, memories and stories had been irredeemably lost. We will soon lose all direct connection with these men.

Future work

So, these stories are not finished. They are simply as far as I could get in the time and with the resources I had. My hope now is that they can be shared and talked about, and through village connections in Toft, Bourn, Longstowe, the Eversdens, and through following up with online genealogists etc, there will be corrections, additions, and more stories to add to the record.

In particular, I think it is important to consider the lives of these men and their families after the war. I was surprised by how many were wounded, often quite seriously, and their pre-war life, as an agricultural labourer, was probably not an option for many. The lack of census data beyond 1921 seems to cut their stories off far too soon, especially if you have immersed yourself in their service records for days on end. It would feel more complete if we could better understand how their lives developed after this enormous hiatus in the routine of village life.

Thanks

Several people have helped the project enormously, along the way. First of all, a small group of anonymous researchers on the Great War Forum online, who helped me discover the fascinating story of Motto Allgood. Without their help he might have remained a ‘possible typo’.

Many thanks to Julie Conder who stepped in to help when I was drowning in a weight of unsorted medal records cards and Williams, Walters and Josephs of every hue. She applied a necessary calm, logic and rigour, as well as access to Find My Past and some very helpful newspaper records which filled gaps and gave the stories more colour and substance.

Finally, thanks to Mark Nicholls, who read through the entire late draft and gave much generous and thoughtful feedback which has undoubtedly improved the work as it stands. The errors that remain, of which I am sure we will discover several, are entirely my own. There will be rewrites and re-appraisals, as new information comes in.

Rachel Hooper
Crossways Cottage
Kingston
2026

Copyright and source acknowledgement

The Kingston Soldiers project is an original, non-commercial work of historical research and remembrance, made freely available for public education. Historical documents and illustrations are reproduced to identify individuals, substantiate biographical information and explain their wartime experiences. Sources are acknowledged wherever identifiable.

Many historical photographs were originally contributed by families to the village memorial shortly after the First World War, and their photographers are no longer identifiable. Reasonable care has been taken to respect third-party rights and applicable permissions. Anyone who believes they hold rights in material reproduced on this website is invited to contact the project, so that any concern can be investigated and appropriate action taken.