16/09/2026
On this day in 1919, Winston Churchill, aged 44, as the Minister of War and Air, signed the book at the Mole Café at Folkestone Harbour. The Harbour played an important role as the embarkation point for nearly 10,000 people heading to the continent as part of the war effort.
The eight books contain names from King George V, Winston Churchill and Wilfred Owen to many people's grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and were digitised by the charity Step Short to mark the centenary of the war.
The Mole Café was situated on the Pier near to the refurbished area where Gaia + Grind, Gaia Studios and the Tasting Rooms are today.