Go to the HOME PAGE | Go to the Local History index
The Burbage War Memorials
The following histories of the War Memorials in the parish are being compiled for the Imperial War Museum's War Memorial Database Project. This is not the final version and any additional information that you may have would be appreciated.
I have so far identified four public war memorials in the parish and one private one. If you know of, or have heard of, others please let me know.
Public War Memorials
- The Crimean War Memorial Window
- The Great War Shrine
- The WW1 & WW2 Memorial Tablet
- The New WW1 and WW2 War Memorial
Private War Memorials
- To H.C. Bailey
Other memorials which may exist or may have existed would be things like Rolls Of Honour (there was talk of compiling one in 1918 - did it ever happen and if so where is it?), buildings erected as Memorial Halls, playing fields bought by public subscription in memory of the fallen, plaques in other public buildings (stations, chapels, halls), public gardens, tree plantations etc.
The Crimean War Memorial Window.
The Window was erected in August 1857 in memory of 4 villagers who died in the Crimean War. The window is in the west wall of the nave of All Saints' Parish Church and bears the following inscriptions:
In the top window: on the white scrolls - "The Battle Is The Lords"; on the vertical bar of the red cross - "Crimea"; in the circle at the centre of the cross - "1855"
The only other lettering is at the base of each light. They record the names of the fallen:
Left Window : "Elias Blake 20; John Noyes 30"; Right Window : "William Tucker 27; Charles Tucker 35"
Beneath the names and running across both panes is the text: "Neither shall they learn war any more. Mirah 4:3"
|
|
|
As can be seen from the photographs, the lettering is not in good condition and will continue to deteriorate unless restored. I know nothing about these men and as they were not present in the village at the time of the 1851 census I would need to check that of 1841 (which contains much less detail) to try to establish their lineage. Nothing has yet come to light regarding who designed the window or how it was paid for. The reason why it was erected at all is also unclear. Further research into the ecclesiastical records may shed some light on the window's history.
Sources: Parish Bible Notes; WI Scrapbooks
The Great War Shrine
To many villagers this will be the war memorial they will remember most as, during its life, it was the focus of all Remembrance Day services. It was dedicated on the 20th October 1918, 22 days before the Armistice and stood for 75 years in the parish churchyard. Due to its deteriorating condition it was replaced in 1993 by the current stone War Memorial and eventually found a home in the entrance hall to the new village school.
The history of the shrine is closely linked with the then incumbent, Hubert Sands. Tragically his eldest son Lesley was killed at the Front in 1916 and shortly after, his next son was seriously wounded but thankfully survived. It was first mooted in August 1917 when from the pulpit the vicar suggested that "on the 3rd anniversary of the outbreak [of the war] it is time to consider some suitable memorial to our brave men who have fallen in their country's cause". He had obviously been privately considering the possibility for some time before "going public" as he had already had designs prepared and had even chosen its site which was to be a "a gray stone gate pillar". This had stood in the churchyard since 1876 and had originally been intended as part of a memorial to the Revd. Stanton but remained unused when the Stanton Aisle was built in his memory instead.
The sketches and designs were displayed in the church porch for two Sundays during that month then on October 5th a meeting was held in the Infants School (now the Church Hall) which agreed to proceed with the project and so formed a committee. The Vicar and Mr. Reynolds (of Wolfhall) were trustees and an appeal was made to the parishioners for subscriptions. The estimate at that time was that the costs would be £10 for the timber (oak) and £25 for the carving of the design. A small plaque was to be attached to the pillar but no names were to be recorded as it was always planned to erect the shrine while the war still raged. A Memorial Tablet which would honour the final list of the fallen would be erected in the church after the war was over.
While quotes were being obtained, the fund raising seems to have been slow with only £1/19/0d (£1.95) being banked by the end of the year. In March 1918 the quote of £50 (to include fixing) was accepted from Messrs. Noyes & Green of Salisbury - carvers and woodworkers for the cathedral. To help raise the funds a leaflet explaining the project was delivered to each household and this proved very successful. By July £54/8/7d had been collected and it was planned to dedicate the shrine on August 15th 1918.
However there was to be a delay caused by Mr. Noyes being called-up but by the time the service did take place on October 20th, the fund had reached £59/12/4d. The monument was dedicated by the Venerable H.W. Carpenter, Archdeacon of Sarum who had stood in for the Archdeacon of Wiltshire. The shrine was unveiled by the Marchioness of Ailesbury.
When the final accounts were prepared it helped underline the support the project had from the villagers:-
Total collected £64/8/1d
Cost of the War Shrine £50/10/0d (Noyes & Green of Salisbury)
Bronze Tablet for the pillar £12/1/0d (Mowbray of Oxford & London)
Printing of the handbills 11/3d (Lucy of Marlborough
Total Cost £63/2/3d
Carried forward towards the Tablet £1/5/10d
A total of 215 individuals had contributed to the fund and although some did not live in the parish, the take-up suggests overall support in Burbage with probably about two thirds of the households giving money. However I have heard that at the time some were opposed to the location chosen for the shrine. Prior to the Great War, Burbage had a strong Methodist following and, I am told, they would have preferred the shrine to have stood on neutral village ground and not within the confines of the Church of England's property. Can anyone throw light on these allegations? How many of the fallen were Methodists?
Major Reynolds recorded the names of all those who gave in a book which was to be kept in the Church safe.
In December of 1918, the Marquess of Ailesbury gave some small oak posts for around the shrine and some iron rails where ordered, their costs being borne by the Churchyard Fund. Mr. Mann fitted the post and rails in January 1919. Does anyone know when they were removed?
I do not have a good photograph of the shrine in situ and would welcome a copy from anyone who does.
DESCRIPTION
The design was a gift of S.T.H. Parkes Esq. FRSA of Birmingham.
Made of well seasoned Wiltshire oak. The shrine has a figure of our Lord upon the cross in the niche protected by a roof of oak (which is leaded) and the text "Greater love hath no man than this" carved on the oak block forming the base.
The bronze tablet on the column has inscribed in relief "To the glory of God and in honour of the men of this village who served in the Great War, and in proud and loving memory of those who laid down their lives in the cause of their Country. Grant them, O Lord, eternal rest"
It was claimed that "Some experts in Church memorials who have seen the Shrine have pronounced it to be of exceptional interest and beauty".
Footnote:
In April 1918 Alfred E. Spanswick, then serving as a private with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in Salonika, sent a contribution of 5/- (25p) to the fund in one of the many letters he wrote to the vicar. In September, while on board a ship and making his way home from the East, he contracted pneumonia and was landed in Italy to receive medical attention. Due to complications from an earlier attack of malarial fever he died on September 29th and was buried at Taranto. How many other serving soldiers financially contributed to their own memorial?
Sources : Parish Magazines
The WW1 and WW2 Memorial Tablet
The Great War
The Memorial Tablet was first erected on June 8th 1920 and subsequently enlarged in 1952 to take the names of those who had fallen in World War 2.
The need for a tablet to record the names of those who had died had been recognized as far back as 1917 when the plans for the Shrine were first discussed. However it was not until the peace treaty had been signed in 1919 and the troops had come home from the war that the work could be undertaken.
Again, like with the Shrine, the Reverend Hubert Sands seems to have commissioned the design without open consultation with the villagers. The project was begun in September 1919 when he announced that "A simple and beautiful design has just been sent to me and will be brought before the parishioners at an early date". The designer, W.H. Bidlake MA Architect, like the designer of the Shrine, S.T.H. Parkes, and, indeed, like Sands himself, came from Birmingham
A meeting was duly held on October 3rd to rubber stamp the plans and form a committee. Three tasks had to be undertaken, namely obtaining quotes; providing an accurate list of the dead and (to be undertaken by a committee of ex-servicemen) a full list of those who served as this was to be written up, framed and hung in the church (Did this happen and if so does anyone know where it is?)
Subscriptions where invited and amongst the first with a generous donation of £1/1/0d was S.T.H. Parkes, the designer of the Shrine. Was he related to the Sands family?
In January 1920 a quote from Messrs. Martyn of Cheltenham was accepted. It was £13/12/6d for the lettering, £25 for the stone and £3 for some gilding.
By April £33/13/11d had been collected and the dedication was planned for June 8th to be performed by the Bishop of Salisbury after a Confirmation service. On the day the tablet was unveiled by the vicar and dedicated as planned with the words "In the Faith of Jesus Christ we dedicate this Tablet to the glory of God and in memory of His servants in the late War" - this names of the dead were then read.
But it wasn't until November that the full £50/8/4d was raised to clear the debt. Apart from £2/5/0d being needed to pay for the fixing and £1/5/0d for the faculty, it is not clear what the remaining £6/6/4d was need for. A copy of the final accounts and a list of names was placed in the Parish Chest - are they still there?
DESCRIPTION
The tablet consists of a panel of Sicilian marble in a setting of finely moulded and carved Corsham stone. The stone crest is of carved laurel and palm leaves, symbolical of victory in a two fold sense - earthly and heavenly. The inscription reads "In Memoriam The Men of Burbage who gave their lives for King and Country in the Great War 1914-19" It then lists the 17 names in date of death sequence and it finishes with "Death is swallowed up in Victory Alleluia". I would appreciate a copy of any photograph of the original tablet
Sources : Parish Magazines
World War 2
It was in 1952, during the incumbency of Revd. C.E.L. Harris that it was remembered that the parish had not erected a memorial to the fallen of World War 2. The first mention is in the Parish Council minutes of a meeting on January 28th 1952 when Mr. B.T. Ford was elected to represent that body on a proposed committee whose aim was to collect money and erect a suitable memorial. A later letter published in the Parish Magazine claims that it was the Parish Council which had been the instigator of the project but I am sure someone will disagree with that. From the start it was suggested that extending the Great War Tablet would be the cheapest way and this what was adopted by the committee formed by representatives of the Parish Council, Parochial Church Council, British Legion, Women's Institute and the Methodist Church.
A fund was established in February to pay for the project with any excess money being used to help lay out the newly acquired village playing field. The vicar made the first donation (£2) adding that the fund "should have been opened some time ago."
Mr. J.T. Lloyd of Great Bedwyn was asked to quote to do the drawings and work and in July it was agreed accept his offer of "sightly over £50". At that time the total raised was but £9/4/6d but the committee planned a house to house collection that month to raise the rest. However all did not go well. The committee was unable to find enough collectors in time to meet the police license so only Westcourt actually contributed. A second police license was obtained and by October the total had shot up to £52/18/9d. and this included £3/10/0d from the home gate receipts of the then very successful Burbage Football Club.
By November the tablet, complete with the additional 11 names, was ready and it was dedicated by the Bishop of Sherbourne on Remembrance Sunday, November 9th 1952.
The final total collected was £55/3/9d and it was stated that "this amount will cover the cost of the Memorial".
Finally, seven years after VJ DAY, Burbage had a memorial to its dead.
Footnote :
Although eleven names were added, by the time the new Memorial had been commissioned in 1993 a twelfth name had been found.
Sources : Parish Magazines; Parish Council Minutes; WI Scrapbook
The New WW1 and WW2 War Memorial
Dedicated in June 1993 as a replacement for the 1918 Shrine, the memorial was designed and executed by Martin Sly, a Burbage born stonemason. More research is needed to ascertain the full story behind the coming of this new monument. One point of note is that whereas the Memorial Tablet has 11 names as fallen in World War 2, this monument has 12.
The new War Memorial - behind it is the Crimean Memorial Window
|
|
|
|
The names of the fallen in the Great War |
The names of the fallen in World War 2 |
