History lesson lest we forget

Bruce Hubbard at his book signing with Tony Higginson of Pritchard books Formby

SO often they are glanced over like any other piece of street furniture, but each name on the hundreds of war memorials throughout Britain carries a story.
Former Head of History at Ainsdale Hope, Bruce Hubbard has taken the opportunity to have a closer look at the First World War memorial that sits on Ainsdale green.
An idea that began as a way to engage his pupils with life in the trenches between 1914-1918 has culminated in a book that tells of the lives of each of those Ainsdale men – and one woman – who fell during their service to Britain.

Ainsdale War Memorial features the names of the local people who died during World War I

Bruce, 54, told LookBack: “Year 9 do a project called Life in the Trenches and I came to realise the events of 90 years ago were about as relevant to them as those of 900 years ago. So I decided to make it more relevant by making at least one aspect local.
“Rather than asking them to read a social history of Ainsdale, two or three summer holidays were spent wandering around France and Belgium taking photographs in obscure cemeteries.
“I brought those back and each pupil was given a name off the war memorial.
“I tried to do it in a way, with plenty of information, so that somebody would get a soldier who lived in their street, their neighbouring street or a house they pass on the way home, so they could think on their way home or when they’re at the war memorial that that’s where he lived.
“It seemed to work and engage them.�
Armed with a plethora of raw information, Bruce decided he had the making of a book and so contacted publishers.
The finished text, simply entitled Ainsdale War Memorial, is now available to be purchased from Broadhurst’s on Market Street, plus Waterstones, Pritchards in Formby and internet retailer Amazon.

Ainsdale’s RAF hero William Hodgkinson’s name on the memorial

The father-of-two’s favourite story relates to a William Hodgkinson, one half of a hotshot flying duo who scored numerous hits on German fighters. The only RAF man on the memorial, Hodgkinson was the observer in two-man Bristol planes and after his success was offered the opportunity to train as a pilot.
It was an offer he refused, preferring to remain with his partner, Captain Campbell and the pair were subsequently shot down by the famous German pilot, Paul Baumer, just above the French settlement of Preseau.
Villagers were excited to take their first glimpse of fallen Allied pilots and rather than contact the British authorities, they clubbed together to pay for a burial in French soil, where William Hodgkinson remains to this day.

The memorial commemorates Ainsdale’s World War I heroes

We’ve got five copies of Ainsdale War Memorial to give away! Just answer this simple question:
What was the name of the German pilot who shot William Hodgkinson’s plane down?
Answers on a postcard to LookBack Memorial Competition, 26-32 Tulketh Street, Southport, PR8 1BT. Closing date is next Wednesday, September 26, 2007.