Bidford History Society
Book Design | Design For Print and Display
Bidford & District History Society first discovered Chris in 2013 after reviewing competitive tenders and sample designs for our second publication, ‘We Will Remember Them’. His imaginative use of, and addition to, our material marked him out from all other candidates and have continued to be his hallmark ever since.
Over this period he has undertaken graphic design services for another publication, ‘Have You Forgotten Yet?. A Heritage Trail brochure depicting items of historical interest around Bidford, numerous flyers publicising BDHS annual programmes of events and publications as well as full-size banners for display at book launches and sales events.
To each of these tasks, he has brought an extremely professional quality of content. And input additional material from his own research, which has added new dimensions to the finished product.
With Chris, you get professionalism, creative input, enthusiasm and cost-effective delivery.
I have no hesitation in recommending CWGD to anyone looking for creative, high-quality service.
Mark Shaddick
Chairman
Bidford & District History Society
“We Will Remember Them”The Bidford Fallen of The Great War:ISBN 978-0-9575790
“This is a concise, beautifully illustrated and deeply touching volume. The diverse experiences and backgrounds of the men in this book remind us of the broad nature of the British Army. There are pre-war regulars and wartime volunteers, most young, but some surprisingly old. Although the majority fell on the Western Front there are also casualties from the Middle East and Salonika. What unites them is their humanity: when reading about their backgrounds and families we are reminded that each life lost in war is an individual tragedy.
The study of war is a complex art that takes place on many levels. Academics naturally gravitate towards the ‘big picture’, but we are lucky to have books such as this one to remind us that armies are not monolithic, unthinking organisations, but are instead composed of a multitude of individuals, each with their own story to tell.”
Dr. Spencer Jones
Senior Lecturer in Armed Forces and War Studies
University of Wolverhampton
As a child attending Remembrance Day services, Bob Marshall wondered who the
people were behind the names staring down at him from the War Memorial. His curiosity led to thirty years of research and took him from the Bidford of 1914 to the horrors of the trenches and on to the cemeteries of Flanders and northern France.
The stories he uncovered are fascinating, almost always unbearably tragic,
and speak to us across the generations.
Bob feels strongly that today’s generation should know of the sacrifices made by the young men of Bidford who left their jobs in the village to fight in the ‘war to end all wars’.
This book is dedicated to their memory.
“Have You Forgotten Yet?”
The Bidford Survivors of The Great War:
ISBN 978-0-9575790-2-6
“The work is full of surprises, contrasts and fascinating details. Above all it illustrates the vivid and varied nature of human experience. It also speaks to the power of the human spirit which could not be crushed no matter the violence of the fighting, for many of these men returned home and led normal, and one may hope fulfilling, lives. In a war so mired in tragedy we find the seeds of hope in their stories.”
Dr. Spencer Jones
Senior Lecturer in Armed Forces and War Studies
University of Wolverhampton
There are 69 fatalities of World War I named on Bidford’s War Memorial but their stories are just a part of the village’s sacrifice in the Great War.
A further 180 soldiers from Bidford and the surrounding area also fought in the
First World War but their names are on no memorial; they survived, many with physical injuries, all with mental scars from that terrible conflict.
In this lavishly illustrated book Bob Marshall details their lives; their sacrifice
is our inheritance and deserves to be remembered in this centenary year
of the Armistice and beyond.
