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War Memorial |
The
first meeting of Week St. Mary’s
War Memorial Committee took
place on the 28th of April 1919.
By June the 25th 1919 a sum of
£109 had been raised by public
subscription and the granite
cross had been ordered. On
October 27th the decision to
prepare the site was taken and
materials were ordered for the
foundations. Further moneys were
raised by a public tea; Price
1/- (one shilling), followed by
a magic lantern show on
Palestine; Admission 6d
(sixpence).
The
war memorial was unveiled by Sir
George Croydon Marks MP for the
Launceston Division on Saturday
6th of December 1919
(Parliamentary divisions have
been reorganised and renamed
several times since). Prayers
were lead by the rector, Rev.
Charles Thomas Witmell; a lesson
was read by Rev.T Rud and
followed by a hymn. A tea
followed in the Council School
to which all service men had
free invitations. After the tea
Sir George gave a lecture on the
League of Nations to a crowded
audience. |
Notice no railings or
posts around the Memorial,
dating this photograph between
1968 and 1970 (see
below) |
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At that
time the fund contained a total of
£134/11/6 (£134 pounds, 11 shillings and
6 pence). The memorial cross was
supplied by The Bodmin Granite Company
Ltd, and invoiced on the 9th of December
1919 for £123/10/4 (£123 pounds, 10
shillings and 4 pence).
In October
1946 the balance of the “Victory Day
Celebrations” £15/6/3 was passed on to
the 1939-45 War Memorial Fund. In April
1947, £7 was spent on cleaning and
painting the memorial and in May 1948
£8/5/0 was spent having the names of the
fallen added to the memorial.
At some
time after the initial erection of the
war memorial the maintenance and upkeep
was taken on by the Week St. Mary Branch
of the Royal British Legion and this
they did until the nineteen-sixties. By
this time the railings had deteriorated
and in November 1964 the Week St. Mary
Branch of the Royal British Legion wrote
to the Parish Council to say that they
were no longer able to be responsible
for the memorial.In November 1967
responsibility of the War Memorial had
been taken on by the Parish Council.
Week St. Mary Royal British Legion
passed the money in the war memorial
fund onto the parish council. In
February 1968 the old railings were
removed at a cost of £5 less £1/15/0 for
the scrap value of the old railings. In
March 1970, £50 had been raised towards
the new posts and chains which cost
£55/9/0 to install. |
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Update: 2010 - Renovations to the War
Memorial have been carried out with the
help of funds from the War Memorial
Trust and Cornwall Councillor Phil
Tucker. It only remains to replace the
chains around the Memorial. We hope you
are pleased with the result, for this
much-loved piece of village history.
Week St Mary Parish Council |
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Those who gave their
lives are remembered annually on
Remembrance Sunday when the
brief, but poignant service,
concludes with the laying of a
wreath and the sounding of the
Last Post.
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WORLD WAR I
***********
• Private Ernest James
HIGGINS
(Duke of Cornwall's Light
Infantry)
Died: 18/09/1917 - Aged: 19 -
Son of William and Susanna
Higgins, of Week St. Mary.
• Private W. J. COLES
(Duke of Cornwall's Light
Infantry)
Died: 23/05/1919 - Age unknown
• Private John KINSMAN
(Duke of Cornwall's Light
Infantry)
Died: 2/10/1916 - Aged: 19 - Son
of Richard and Mary Kinsman, of
Kitleigh, Week St. Mary.
• Private Sidney
LAWRENCE
(Duke of Cornwall's Light
Infantry)
Died: 10/09/1914 - Age unknown
• Lance Corporal Hartley
Owen ORCHARD
(Military Police)
Died: 21/11/1918 - Aged: 21 -
Son of Thomas and Mary Ann
Orchard, of Carey House, Week
St. Mary.
• Sapper George
Frederick Wright REED
(Royal Engineers)
Died: 1/12/1915 - Aged: 36 -
Husband of Alice Moyse Reed, of
Week Green, Week St. Mary.
• Private James ROGERS
(Devonshire Regiment)
Died: 4/11/1917 - Aged: 21 - Son
of John and Mary Mason Rogers,
of Week St. Mary.
• Private William John
COLES
(Duke of Cornwall's Light
Infantry)
Died: 18/09/1918 - Aged: 23 -
Son of John and Emily Coles of
Parsonage Green, Week St. Mary.
WORLD WAR II
************
• Private Wilfred
Richard Pengelly ROWLAND
(Duke of Cornwall's Light
Infantry)
Died: 30/11/1943 - Aged: 21 -
Son of Albert and Hilda Rowland,
of Week St. Mary.
• Sergeant Eustace Henry ORCHARD
(Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve)
Died: 15/03/1944 - Aged: 23 -
Husband of Doris Mary Orchard,
of Week St. Mary. |
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• For
information on the War dead, search the
Commonwealth War Graves
Commission
website
•
Royal British Legion
•
SSAFA
(Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families
Association) |
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