MEMBERS of a Wirral boys' club who lost their lives during the First World War are to be remembered in a new memorial garden.

The feature at Birkenhead Shaftesbury Youth Club will be officially dedicated on Remembrance Sunday, November 13, in a service which starts at 1145am.

Designed to reflect a World War One trench and boardwalk, its central feature includes a memorial plaque from the conflict which says:

"This field is a memorial to the 630 past and present members of the Shaftesbury Boys Club who served in the great war 1914-1919, of whom 75 laid down their lives."

There are also framed images of pages from the Golden Book - an extraordinary record from the war which contains excerpts from the last letters sent home by the young Birkenhead servicemen.

Between hand-tooled leather covers, illuminated pages record 73 names, addresses and dates of birth, regiments and the fateful actions in which they lost their lives and where the dead were buried; all in a beautiful cursive script.

Wirral Globe:

A feature of the memorial garden

The memorial is the culmination of work by the National Citizens Service and the Probation Service Community Payback teams.

Barry Eaton, treasurer of the club, told the Globe: "The Golden Book has been in the safe for long time and we wanted the public to see it.

Wirral Globe: the golden book

The Golden Book  - where battle raged on land or sea, Shaftesbury lads were in the thick of it

"It's a fantastic piece of Birkenhead history and should be celebrated.

"Each page represents the life of a person who was killed.

"It says something about that person or what the army said about them.

"The Probation Service lads have been great. The service wanted a project they could get its teeth.

"I'd like to express our grateful thanks to Corfe Stone who donated the garden's pathway surfacing."

Wirral Globe:

Debbie Davies, club administrator with manager Phil Nugent at the memorial garden

Debbie Davies, the club's administrator, was among those given a preview of the feature.

She said: "It's so impressive, I don't think it could have been done any better.

"I just wish our young people of today would appreciate what they went through during the First World War.

"Without them, young people would not have the freedom they have today."

The garden is alongside the club house and can be viewed by contacting club manager Phil Nugent on 0151 608 7165 or emailing: info@shaftes.org.uk

After the war came peace and remembrance: Shaftesbury commemorated its lost heroes in their remarkable ‘Golden Book.’

Wirral writer Mike Simpson turns the pages of history in this meticulously-researched and moving article for the Globe.

Wirral Globe: The golden book

Golden Book: Alongside the sparse facts of a soldier or sailor’s death are edited excerpts from letters home; praise from commanding officers writing to inform parents and wives of their loved one’s death, and fuller descriptions of that final conflict with the enemy