Touching tribute to Sussex village citizens who died in both world wars

A special exhibition is currently in place at Holy Trinity Church in Rudgwick detailing all the villagers who died in the conflicts.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the remarkable exhibition which is staged each year by retired graphic designer Geoffrey Turberville Smith.

Geoffrey paintstakingly researched the lives of those killed and set about creating memorials to them.

The Rudgwick Remembers exhibition started this week and will be hosted at the church for the next three weeks.

Around the north and south walls of the church are ‘headstones’ created for each of the 59 names on the Roll of Honour.

There are also maps showing where they lived in Rudgwick, where they died and extracts from parish magazines of the time.

“Over the last 20 years there has been a growing interest in researching into the past and we have added many photographs and background stories,” said Geoffrey.

“Each year there has been a lot of interest from local schools.”

Geoffrey first embarked on his mission after hearing the names of the dead being read out during a Remembrance Day service.

“Then everyone solemnly said: ‘We will remember them.’ And I thought ‘we don’t really know who they are’.”

Since then, with help from others, Geoffrey has managed to research the lives of all of them in a fitting village tribute.