This November is the last Remembrance Sunday before we mark the events of the centenary of the First World War.

SSAFA (formerly the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Families Association) was one of the few military charities to have provided care and support to our troops and their families during that terrible conflict.

Back then, as now, SSAFA had a team of volunteers working in Epping and Harlow to care for the wives and children of those sent to the front.

We were also there to deal with the consequences when the men did not return.

SSAFA Epping and Harlow is seeking to discover more about the people we supported to help us mark our contribution to the nation’s war effort.

If you have memorabilia, a diary or a family connection to a client or volunteer during the Great War, then SSAFA Epping and Harlow would like to hear from you.

We continue to be as relevant today as we were then and SSAFA is still providing our forces and their families with lifelong support.

In Epping and Harlow alone, we helped 31 people last year.

If you have any information regarding SSAFA and the Great War then do contact us at essex@ssafa.org.uk or telephone 01206 764114.

Elizabeth Clark, Divisional Secretary, SSAFA Epping and Harlow.