- Findmypast.com launches ‘Hall of Heroes’ campaign to share individual stories about heroic figures from everyone’s own family history
- Call for people to submit stories of their own family heroes to be included alongside famous historical figures
- New record sets launched to help people discover the heroes in their family
London, UK, 19 August, 2014 – Leading family history website, Findmypast.com has today announced the launch of its Hall of Heroes. The Hall aims to celebrate the heroes from our history, from unsung underdogs to First World War medal winners.
Findmypast is asking people to help create a ‘Hall of Heroes’ that truly reflects the heroic figures from our own history by inviting everyone to submit their own heroes from their family history to be chosen for inclusion in the Hall of Heroes.
Unsung underdogs to military heroes
The Hall aims to celebrate the actions of all types of heroes, including men, women, children and animals.
Notable stories include Salem Poor (1747-1802), who was an African-American slave who bought his freedom, joined the army, and became a hero of the Revolutionary War. His gallantry during the Battle of Bunker Hill so impressed his fellow soldiers that they petitioned the General Court of Massachusetts on his behalf. Poor was commemorated with a stamp as part of the United States Bicentennial in 1975. Poor Street in Andover is named after him.
Another hero celebrated by Findmypast today is Sergeant Alvin Cullum York, one of the most decorated American soldiers in World War I. Alvin won the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross. Legion of Honour, Croix de Guerre, War Merit Cross, and Order of Prince Danilo I for his service in France. York endeavoured to live a relatively quiet life after the war, shunning opportunities to cash in on his new fame. In the twenties he founded the Alvin C. York Foundation, aiming to increase education opportunities in his home state of Tennessee.
“It’s great to be able to celebrate the bravery and courage of figures in our history. The ‘Hall of Heroes’ allows the lives of well documented famous figures to be recognised alongside the bravery of the everyman, including maids, miners and even rescue dogs,” said Holly Thomas, historian and writer at Findmypast. “These people, drawn from all walks of life, and from all over the world, played an incredibly important part in shaping our history. We’re especially excited about reading the stories of the heroes that people will be submitting from their own families over the coming weeks and can’t wait to make these unknown stories available for everyone to read in one place for the very first time.”
Visit heroes.findmypast.com for more information on these heroes and to submit your own story.
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