Remembering VE Day: Celebrations in Mansfield Woodhouse

8th May 1945 marked the official end of the war in Europe — a moment of jubilation and relief after six long years of hardship, fear, and sacrifice. In communities across Britain, neighbours came together to celebrate peace and look ahead to brighter days. In Mansfield Woodhouse, the spirit of VE Day was marked with […]

The Life and Loss of Joseph Raymond Jordan

“To a beautiful life comes a sudden end. Ever in our thoughts. Mam, Dad, and Sisters.”— Gravestone inscription, Pornic War Cemetery In the early summer of 1940, as the world reeled from the onslaught of a second global war, a 20-year-old man from Mansfield Woodhouse disappeared into the chaos of history. His name was Joseph […]

The Story of Ernest Antcliffe – A Life Cut Short by War

At the heart of Mansfield Woodhouse, among the red-bricked rows and quiet lanes, lived the Antcliffe family – ordinary people whose story, like so many others, was shaped by extraordinary times. Ernest Antcliffe was born in 1885, the youngest of four children. His father, Herbert, hailed from Edwinstowe, born in 1857, while his mother, Mary […]