THERE could be new names added to Lifton’s war memorial.

A local resident, David Vero, contacted the parish council, saying he had discovered information about a a number of men with associations to the West Devon village, who died in the two world wars, but are not recorded on the memorial.

He made the discovery through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

He wrote: “Some of the men had relatives elsewhere in the country and it is entirely possible therefore that they are remembered on other memorials, but others seem to be particularly associated with Lifton.”

He supplied the parish council with details he had been able to obtain of the five men.

Three of the men died during the First World War.

They were William Perkins, bombadier, 233 Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, who died on October 3, 1917, aged 39. He is buried in Belgian Battery Corner Cemetery, Belgium. He was the son of Thomas and Emma Jane Perkins, Lifton, and husband of Lucy Perkins, London.

Pte William John Wevill, 1st Battalion Devonshire Regiment, who died on October 4, 1917, aged 36. He is recorded on Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium. He was the son of Richard and Fanny Wevill, and husband of Edith Wevill, Lifton.

Pte Alonzo Patrick Hall, 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, who died November 1, 1917, aged 24, and is buried in Meningheim Military Cemetery, Belgium. He was born at Lifton, son of the Rev R S and Mrs Hall, Newport, Wales.

During World War Two, Leading Aircraftman Arthur James Saffin, 240 Squadron, RAF, died on November 3, 1939, aged 22. He is recorded on Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, and was the son of Arthur James and Beatrice Annie Saffin, Lifton.

Captain Arthur Brian Wilfred Hooper BA, LLB (Cantab), King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, attached to 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment, who died October 26, 1944, aged 29. He was buried in Bergen-Op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands. He was the son of Edgar Wilfred and Lilian Wells Hooper, Lifton.

Mr Vero told the Post he started thinking about the names on the memorial a few years ago — how they are read out every year, but how not much is known of the men.

He started carrying out his own research through various websites, including the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, and came across a number of names that had links to Lifton but were not recorded on the village’s war memorial.

Some of the names were recorded on memorials in other places, such as at Launceston, Stowford, Kelly and Marystow.

Mr Vero added: “This left five people who didn’t seem to be on any other local war memorial. I wrote to the parish council round about last October. I was suggesting someone ought to think about putting them on a memorial somewhere. I just think it would be the decent thing to do really.”

Mr Vero said the names not recorded were added to the list of names read out on Remembrance Sunday last year.

After contacting the parish clerk, he was able to read minutes of parish council meetings from 1914 to the 1920s.

He added: “At the end of the war there is mention of a war memorial — there was no decision on what names should be included. All that was decided was that the churchyard was the best place to put it.”

The clerk to the parish council has submitted a ‘pre-application’ for a grant from the war memorial trust to add the names to the memorial, and awaits the outcome of this before seeking a quote for the work to be carried out.