Soldier statues to remember forgotten heroes who died weeks after the First World War

Salute: Chelsea Pensioners help launch the campaign to commemorate those who died in the months after the Great War ended (Picture: Tim Anderson )

Campaigners are urging people to remember the “forgotten soldiers” who died in the weeks after the First World War ended.

Figures from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission show more than 450 soldiers from London died between the declaration of the Armistice on November 11 and December 31, 1918.

Many servicemen succumbed to injuries sustained earlier on the battlefield, and from illness, in the weeks leading up to Christmas 1918. Relatives of the soldiers claim the sacrifices these soldiers made have often not been remembered fully because they did not die in battle.

To commemorate these soldiers, the There But Not There campaign is making versions of its “Tommy” statues available to buy at the Peter Jones store in Sloane Square.

The figures are miniature versions of life-size silhouettes that were put up across London last month as part of commemorations for the centenary of the end of the First World War.

Rowley Gregg, director of There But Not There, said: “We are committed to ensuring all the 18,355 personnel who did not make it home for Christmas in 1918 are properly remembered.”