WWI Survivors

WWI Survivors

Every November Remembrance Sunday, the names of 74 St Ives men killed in WWI and named on the St Ives War Memorial are read out to a gathering of several hundred residents. What about the survivors? How did the 397 St Ives men named on the St Ives Roll of Honour fare after the Armistice? And what about survivors not named on the Roll of Honour?

Publication of the 1921 census, linked to military records, helps identify and understand what happened to survivors.  Read on to learn what happened to St Ives men who returned from WWI.

Family life
It took a year or more after the Armistice before the authorities discharged men from the services. Once back home, there was a matrimonial boom. Of the St Ives married survivors, 31% were married in the three years to 1921. 

Having a family, or increasing their family, seemed a priority for many returning from war. 32% of St Ives married men had one or more children born after the war ended.

Decorations
Awards were made 18 times to those returning from WWI. Arthur Simons was a special case.  He wrote of his experiences in the trenches. When wounded in battle, he wrote home 'I lost a lot of blood, but I think it has done me good to lose some of it...' and went on to describe his narrow escape from the Germans. His brother died and is named on the St Ives War Memorial. His other brother was awarded the Military Medal. Arthur was awarded both the Military Medal and the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Total decorations in order of seniority were:

Distinguished Service Order	2
Military Cross	2
Distinguished Conduct Medal	3
Military Medal	10
Other (Italy, for bravery)	1

Casualties
The 1921 census broke with tradition. All seven censuses from 1851 to 1911 asked for information on infirmities. For the 1921 census, the Government explained they had better means of getting the information than asking non-medical people to give a medical judgement. Possibly a more accurate explanation was that such a question would reveal the true scale of ongoing suffering from WWI. The number of people in hospital had increased by 35% over that of 1911. This was no doubt because of WWI veterans suffering long-term injuries or illness.

For St Ives men, the chance of death was twice that of the national average. The figure for infirmity is slightly higher than the national average. 

DEATHS
84 St Ives men
18% of St Ives men who took part in WWI
9% UK national average

INJURY OR ILLNESS
75 St Ives men
16% of St Ives men who took part in WWI
13% UK national average

Peace celebrations in Market Hill, 19 July 1919. Many of the WWI survivors attended.

Individual stories

Click the Injury & Illness icon below for details of injury or illness suffered by St Ives survivors of WWI. Or click the Stories icon to read of mothers who sent four or five sons to war, to see them named on the St Ives War Memorial or return marked by battle. Men who wrote home about their hair-raising experiences in the trenches. Others amazed to return alive after multiple injuries.

Records

The alphabet icons take you to details of the 397 men named on the St Ives Roll of Honour, and 33 not named. For some WWI survivors, there is no trace in the 1921 census. Find My Past, the transcribers of the census, admit there are quality issues. Accuracy will improve over time. When corrections are spotted, record details will be updated. Grey alphabet buttons indicate there are no records to view. Links to newspaper articles show as 'HP' for Hunts Post, and the publication date.

If you can help with any additional information, please click Get in Touch. To read more articles about St Ives in World War I, click WWI.