Memorial tribute to those who served at WWI remount depot
ANEW memorial has been unveiled this week at the entrance to Lathom Park.
A joint project between Lathom Park Trust and West Lancs Heritage Association, along with Lathom & Burscough Military Heritage, the memorial commemorates the men of the Army Remount Service stationed at the Depot during WWI.
Funded by the members from these groups, the memorial has been placed just outside the boundary of the park on the Hall Lane lay-by.
The use of the park as a remount depot was agreed by the 3rd Earl of Lathom, who was a minor when war broke out in August 1914.
The trustee of his inherited estate was Lord Derby.
The deal struck with the War Office to build a temporary military base in the park went ahead and an instant small town was constructed in weeks.
Many hundreds of military personnel and civilians worked at the camp. Local tradesmen such as saddlers, harness makers, teamsmen, and blacksmiths were soon working together to prepare the horses for active duty.
Rough riders were engaged to help train the horses for riding and carriage harness.
The horses had arrived in varying states of health and so the Army Veterinary Corps had a huge job getting them categorised and declaring them fit.
Many mares arrived in foal and were sent to local farms; when the foal was born, the mares came back to the park and the foal was kept by the farmer.
One such farmer was Thomas Booth of Appley Bridge.
Thomas had a coal round as well as a farm and the mare that boarded on his farm while in foal was quite a handful.
After the foal was born the mare returned to Lathom Park.
Some months later there was a mare and foal competition and Thomas took his foal up for the show and along with its mother they won the Heavy Horse Mare and Foal class.
Thomas was given a silver cup for 1st place.
More than 100 years later, the cup is still displayed proudly in the home of his grandson, Dennis.
Identifying men who were serving at the depot is often difficult.
From a number of postcards sent home by the men of the camp, we can identify them and often find their service records.
Cards posted home from the depot were comical, designed to pass on good cheer and help families worry less about their loved one.
Sporting competitions were also held in the park, with winners’ medals were given out to the men and when these turn up they also give a clue to another man who served on the park.
It is interesting what does turn up through the generosity of local people who are happy to share their collections freely with Lathom Park Trust.
Items related to the remount depot are often sought after to be acquired for commercial gain, but the trust uses them to help build a history of the depot and the men who served there so that a record is available for people trying to identify their ancestors in the future.
There are cards and other items turning up all the time and this helps to build a roll of men who served there.
A team of researchers from Lathom Park Trust are able to identify the soldiers and build a story of their lives to use to explain the story of the depot at local community events.
Visit www.facebook. com/lathomparktrust/ for more details. ● The official dedication of the Remount Depot Memorial will take place in late June. ● ● ●