The Isle of Wight went to war in August 1914 along with the rest of
Britain. German waiters were arrested. The tourist trade slumped.
Foreigners were denounced and lads from all walks of life flocked to the
colors. Then came privations, losses, hospitals full of the sick and
crippled. After conscription was brought in tribunals were set up to
catch draft-dodgers. Thousands of pounds were raised for the war effort
and lectures, rallies and the local press all did their bit to keep
morale high. There are no official figures for the Island's war dead,
but 300 of the Isle of Wight Rifles fell on one day at Gallipoli in
August 1915.
The original plan to commemorate the dead was to erect a cross in
Winchester but that changed so that every Island parish had a memorial
of its own. Ex-Islanders from as far away as Australia and Canada
volunteered to fight for king and country in this war to end all wars.