By Alison Young, Diocese of Llandaff

A church Friends group is celebrating after being awarded a cash boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund for its project to mark the centenary of World War One.

The Friends of St Augustine’s Church, Penarth, have been given £9,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for their project   ‘World War One Roll of Honour - Restoration and Remembrance’.

Awarded through HLF’s ‘First World War: then and now’ programme, the project will focus on the restoration and re-gilding of the Roll of Honour on the west wall of the church, together with work recording details of the lives and families of as many of the men on the Roll as possible.

Tricia Griffiths, Chair of the Friends, said, “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, and can now go ahead confidently with our extensive plans for this project. We have agreed, as our share of the project, to contribute at least £2,000, so our fundraising efforts, though fractionally less urgent, will be unabated.”

To mark the centenary of the First World War, the project, as well as ensuring the preservation of the physical monument to the heroism of those who died, will also enable local people to work together to preserve memories of the fallen and of their families.

Volunteers will collect photos, newspaper clippings, documents, letters and family memories. Exhibitions will be created, community events held and the information gathered will be digitally recorded and an on-line archive created.

“All this should help to bring alive to people of all ages the experiences and sacrifices of a generation of young men 1914-18, and the sufferings of their families,” added Tricia Griffiths.

Head of the HLF in Wales, Jennifer Stewart, said: “The impact of the First World War was far reaching, touching and shaping every corner of the UK and beyond.

“The Heritage Lottery Fund has already invested more than £46million in projects – large and small - that are marking this global Centenary; with our new small grants programme, we are enabling even more communities like those involved in St Augustine’s Roll of Honour project to explore the continuing legacy of this conflict and help local young people in particular to broaden their understanding of how it has shaped our modern world.”

Notes:

About the Friends of St Augustine’s Penarth - The Friends were launched in November 2012. Their primary aim is to preserve the structure of St Augustine’s church (one of William Butterfield’s finest creations) and the many remarkable artefacts within it. They are also very keen to establish the building once more as a centre for the whole of the local community. There are now more than 200 members, some of them being churchgoing parishioners, and others being either members of the local community or keen architectural enthusiasts. The committee reflects these varied groups. The monumental WWI Roll of Honour covering the west wall of the church, which is in need of restoration, is one of the first projects to be taken up by the Friends.