Ernest Puddephatt, Charles Dogget, Stanley Biggerstaff and Ephraim Haysman may sound more like names from a Dickens novel rather than anything we could relate to today, but for the inhabitants of Chipperfield, they are forever entwined with the history of the village. They are among the 169 Chipperfield men, named in the roll of honour on two marble plaques in St Paul’s Church, who went to war to defend their country in the World War One.

The 37 men who gave their lives in service have also been commemorated on the war memorial, which has stood on the common since 1920 and on the wooden panelling, which is to the left of the altar in the church.

These items and a myriad of war records were the starting point for a research project undertaken by Mary Nobbs and her son Andrew, which has provided the basis for John Uff’s dramatic chronicle of the part Chipperfield played in the Great War, Our Village At War, which will be presented by Chipperfield Theatre Group.

Director Lisa Calcutt came on board to “help them animate the play”, but she says the “integrity of the story” remains the same.

“It’s very interesting as we walk past the war memorial almost every day and a lot of people probably ignore it. They might think, okay right there it is, but when you see how many of those involved didn’t come back, it becomes quite emotive.”

To help people understand the story, a booklet containing photographs and the histories of the 169 men accompanies the performance.

“When something’s this well researched you feel you’re doing these poor souls a bit of a service,” says Lisa. “They are part of the village as it is today and this is a nice way to bring the commemorative service for 90 years closer to home.”

Mary found wartime copies of the parish magazine particularly useful. She says: “The vicars of those years, the Reverend Charles Barker and Canon Arthur Jeffries, kept the villagers informed about the men who were serving and the families who had lost loved ones.

“What agony parents must have suffered early in August 1914 when the call was made for young men to volunteer to join the armed forces to defend our country against Germany.”

Mary has clearly been touched by the stories she has unearthed.

“Was it possible that parents like Henry and Sarah Biggerstaff could have ever felt a sense of pride when three of their sons served in the war?” she asks. “Tragically, their son Jesse, who was a regular in the Grenadier Guards, died in the first battle of Ypres on November 7, 1914 and was the first casualty from the village. His own son Denis was born just three days before he went to the front.”

Mary also tells me the history of the Blackwells social club built in 1922 and named after another local family who suffered losses in World War One.

“Samuel and Elizabeth Blackwell of the Manor House were equally devastated by the loss of two sons. Charles Blackwell was wounded at the second battle of Ypres and died in France in July, 1915. William Gordon Blackwell, the younger of the two brothers, was killed in action on October 5, 1916.”

Our Village At War takes place in Chipperfield Village Hall at 7.45pm on Friday, November 7 and Saturday, November 8. Details: 01442 832770.