WHEN soldiers forced Belgian families from their homes, Swindon homeowners answered the mayday call.

The town served as a safe haven for 300 Belgian refugees forced to flee in 1914 as the German advance steamrollered Belgium

In a touching letter, the refugees who settled in Swindon thanked their guests for opening their homes. In a letter written to the Mothers’ Union, they said in halting English: “Forced to abandon our invaded country, you welcome us with open arms, provide a home for us and you are seeking to give the means to make us forget that we are in exile.”

The refugees’ story is one of a number that will be told this Saturday at a special event marking the centenary of the First World War.

Volunteers at Christ Church, Old Town, have spent months poring over archives to tell the stories of the Swindon soldiers who fought abroad and the families they left behind.

In the process, event organisers Janet French and Stephen Grosvenor, say they have unearthed fascinating facts about the town’s past.

They include fears raised in the Evening Advertiser of a doll head famine. Stephen said: “There was a little article saying there were no factories making dolls’ heads. The heads were made in Germany and the bodies were made in England.

“Those kind of articles were set alongside columns of information about the war.”

The evening will see readings from South Swindon MP Robert Buckland, Commonweal headteacher Bob Linnegar and even an actress taking the part of Mary Slade, a Swindon teacher who set up a group sending food, cigarettes and other comforts to Wiltshire soldiers serving abroad. The Aldbourne Band will also play at the event.

“We will be remembering the men and their families,” said Janet. “We’re focusing on the individual soldiers and the role Swindon played, like the fact that in the Railway Works they produced guns and hospital items.”

Every day this week the Christ Church spire will be floodlit blood red in memory of individual Swindon soldiers listed on the church’s war memorial.

The event is on Saturday, November 10, from 7pm. Tickets are £10 and can be bought in advance. Call 01793 522832 or visit www.christchurchswindon.co.uk.