Blessed Villages
A Blessed or a Thankful Village was one which had lost no men in the Great War - all those who left to serve, returned. This term was coined by Arthur Mee in the first volume of The King’s England series of guides “Enchanted Land” written in 1936. Arthur Mee identified 32 villages in England and Wales from which all soldiers returned.
In France, Thierville was the only village with no men lost in WW1.
In a 2010 update, researchers identified 52 civil parishes in England and Wales. There are no settlements in Scotland or Northern Ireland that did not lose a member of the community in WW1. 14 of the English and Welsh villages are considered "doubly thankful", in that they also lost no service personnel during WW2. These are marked with a * in the list below.
In France, Thierville was the only village with no men lost in WW1.
In a 2010 update, researchers identified 52 civil parishes in England and Wales. There are no settlements in Scotland or Northern Ireland that did not lose a member of the community in WW1. 14 of the English and Welsh villages are considered "doubly thankful", in that they also lost no service personnel during WW2. These are marked with a * in the list below.
Buckinghamshire
Cardiganshire Cornwall Cumberland Derbyshire Dorset Durham Essex Glamorgan Gloucestershire Gloucestershire Herefordshire Herefordshire Hertfordshire Kent Lancashire Leicestershire Lincolnshire Lincolnshire Northamptonshire Northumberland Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire Pembrokeshire Rutland Shropshire Somerset Somerset Somerset Suffolk Sussex Sussex Yorkshire Yorkshire |
Stoke Hammond
Llanfihangel y Creuddyn Herodsfoot * Ousby Bradbourne Langton Herring * Hunstanworth Strethall Colwinston Coln Rogers, Little Sodbury, Upper Slaughter * Knill, Middleton on the Hill * and Pipe Aston * Puttenham Knowlton Arkholme *, Nether Kellet * Saxby and East Norton Bigby, Flixborough *, High Toynton * and Minting East Carlton and Woodend Meldon Cromwell, Maplebeck, Wigsley and Wysall Herbrandston * Teigh Harley Aisholt, Chantry, Chelwood, Holywell Lake, Rodney Stoke, Shapwick, Stocklinch *, Tellisford and Woolley * Culpho and South Elmham St. Michael * East Wittering Catwick *, Cundall, Helperthorpe, Norton-le-Clay and Scruton |
Plaque in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Teigh Rutland
THIS TABLET IS ERECTED TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN HUMBLE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF HIS MERCIES IN PRESERVING THE LIVES OF THE ELEVEN MEN AND TWO WOMEN RESIDENTS OF TEIGH WHO SERVED IN THE GREAT WAR OF 1914-1918 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD |