The two World Wars of the 20th Century had a massive impact on the people of St Helens. The cenotaph in Victoria Square records the names of over 2,000 casualties of the Great War and over 500 of the Second World War. These lists of names carved in stone tell only part of the story, and this website aims to help tell the rest. In depth research of a variety of primary and secondary resources has helped us to identify most of these men and women, to tell us who they were and where they lived, where they served and ultimately where and when they died. The research shows that the names carved on the cenotaph are not the only people to have fallen in the service of their country. Many other St Helens people were also victims of the wars but for whatever reason, they are not part of our Civic Memorial as their names have been omitted. We have included those people on this site. The site has been developed for the people of St Helens, and those who have family who fell in the wars, to share their ancestor's experiences, to tell us their stories and to celebrate and commemorate the lives of so many people who made the ultimate sacrifice. In addition, there are many names on the Cenotaph which we have as yet been unable to identify, and we seek the help of the people of St Helens, families of the fallen, and other interested parties in identifying these men and commemorating their sacrifice.

Stephen Nulty, 2011