"Anthem for Doomed Youth" is a well-known poem written by Wilfred Owen that incorporates the theme of the horror of war.

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? 

Only the monstrous anger of the guns. 

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle 

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; 

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, –

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; 

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

Latest recruits for the Regular Army and Special Reserve at the Park Street Volunteer Club.

Abrams T. W.

Bavister J. G.

Bozier A. G.

Curtis John

Dellar T. C.

Everitt F. C.

Fowler William

Gurney J. A.

Gurney William

Holt F.

Mann George T.

Miles Arthur

Odell Charles

Payne Edmund

Room A.

Saunders Percy

Sear C.

Stocker W.

Latest recruits to the 5th (Reserve) Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment who have joined through the recruiting offices at the Corn Exchange [The Luton News, September 24th, 1914].

Adrian Thomad

Allen J. E.

Anderson Edward

Ansell W. C.

Arnold H.

Baker George

Batchelor J.

Ball William H.

Briars R.

Brown G. H.

Brown P.

Buckingham W. A.

Burrows A. W.

Carter Charles

Chamberlain H. J.

Clark F.

Cumberland S. J.

Custance F.

Crew R.

Today Beech Hill is a large multi cultural school serving approximately 750 pupils, it is popular and located near Luton town centre.

In WW1 it was used to house troops billeted in the local area. There are written reports of men from the North Midlands Division being billeted on and around the streets of Bury Park, as well as photographs of men outside these houses in uniform.

Beech Hill Primary appears to have been home to a cadre of men from the Royal Army Medical Corps, as seen on the photograph above.

Seven months after Luton's temperamental presentation tank was set in position in Wardown Park, a second war trophy was added - a naval gun captured by the Bedfordshire Regiment. And, unlike the tank, it was taken to its destination with some ceremony.

When I closed my letter last week we were awaiting Germany's reply to our ultimatum. Much history has been written since then, and the whole British race in these islands and outside of them has ranged itself in opposition to the most powerful and unscrupulous military tyranny that has existed since Waterloo.

The famous Author, Dennis Wheatley, was posted to Biscot Camp in 1917.

Whilst here, he was encouraged to write a number of limericks that concern many of the things that young army officers liked to think about. Sex, banter and pushing the boundaries.

The Roll of Honour lists 1284 names of soldiers and service personnel from Luton, who fell during the Great War 1914 - 1918 (and in some cases into 1920 from wounds etc).

The names on this roll of honour are being digitised and added to the searchable database of Luton's people in 1914 - 1918.

Download the Roll of Honour on this page.