Pulborough author completes ambitious series on First World War

Former Pulborough parish councillor Martin Dale set out to write an ambitious series of books listing all fallen casualties of World War One, including those who fought in the British Empire and Commonwealth.

Mr Dale said: “I first had the idea of producing this series after two events – the first was the research for my first book published in 2012, when I felt a bit of guilt when deciding who did and did not fit the remit of my book.

“The second, and main inspiration, was the realisation that there are no official commemoration of the civilian casualties of WW1, as referenced above.”

Mr Dale claims that The First World War Roll of Honour Series is the first of its kind to remember and honour all known casualties (military and civilian; men, women and children) for all nations and territories that served the British Crown together in one place.

He continued: “I wanted to make sure that everyone is given the remembrance that they deserve, and none are forgotten.”

Each volume in the series covers a defined period and all entries include the name, rank, number, date of death and unit of each serviceman and servicewoman, including awards and decorations, and any known aliases.

Civilian casualties are entered with data on name, date of death, cause (air raid, coastal bombardment or sinking) and age if known.

“The younger generations, such as I find myself in (aged 24), often receive bad press, and so I find it fitting that I, as a younger person, wrote and published this series of books to honour and respect the sacrifices made by those serving in WW1,” he said.

With nearly 8,300 pages and a word count of 7.5 million, approximately 1 million people in total are included in the complete 17-volume series.

Mr Dale is an avid military and local history researcher. He took up writing as a profession in 2012. He also campaigns on a number of wildlife and environmental issues.

All volumes are now available on amazon.co.uk.