PRESS RELEASE from The Herne Hill Society
World War One Interactive Map
A joint venture by the Herne Hill Society, Dulwich Society and other local groups to commemorate the centenary of World War One.
The Herne Hill Society, with the Dulwich Society and the Friends of Norwood Cemetery, has launched an online interactive map to commemorate the centenary of World War One. So far the map features nearly 50 locations in the Herne Hill, Dulwich and Norwood. More will be added.
It can be seen at http://tiny.cc/ww1-interactive-map
The online map indicates the contribution the area made to the war effort, as well as the impact on the lives of local people.
For example, it is not generally known that in 1917 German Gotha aircraft dropped bombs in Dulwich Village, killing two people.
Other sites include a school where girls decided to forego their school prizes and use the money to buy wool and knit clothes for soldiers at the Front. There were the Wellcome Laboratories on Brockwell Park (now demolished) where scientific research led to serums and vaccines that saved the lives of countless soldiers.
The Sunray Estate of post-War ‘Homes Fit for Heroes’ is there, as are the military hospitals set up at King’s College, the Maudsley and East Dulwich.
A number of attacks on shops with German-sounding names are pin- pointed, together with a petition from residents of Frankfurt Road in Herne Hill to change the name of their 'Germanic' street – and much more.
The map, built with Google’s MapEngine, also features many war memorials, with over 2,200 names of servicemen associated with this small part of South London who were killed in World War One.
Society Chair and Frankfurt Road resident Colin Wight says: ‘This simple low-cost project has made local knowledge, together with recent archival research, freely accessible for the first time. Other South London societies are welcome to join us and build on the work we’ve begun.’
For more information contact: Colin Wight, The Herne Hill Society, PO Box 27845, London SE24 9XA email: [email protected]
The Herne Hill Society
Founded in 1982, the Herne Hill Society is a registered charity working to improve London SE24 for the benefit of residents, visitors and local businesses. Find out more on our website www.hernehillsociety.org.uk