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90 Years of the Thurleigh War Memorial
“On the
highest point
of the village and overlooking the venerable Parish Church stands a
beautiful
granite cross, erected as a lasting tribute to the memory of the twelve
men of
Thurleigh who laid down their lives in the War.
A more appropriate site could not have been chosen, for,
by the side of
the main road and adjacent to the school, the cross will be a constant
reminder
of the supreme sacrifice that these Thurleigh lads made. The
impressive scene
at the unveiling ceremony on Sunday will live long in the memory of the
parishioners. Draped
in the Union Jack,
the cross stood with a background of autumn tinted foliage. Facing it were the members
of The Ivy Leaf
band in their scarlet coats and on their right were drawn up the local
ex-servicemen who had previously marched from the Baptist Chapel headed
by the
band. In front of
the cross were seated the
relatives of the fallen and all around were the villagers and visitors
from
neighbouring parishes. The ceremony
opened
with an impressive rendering of Chopin’s ‘Funeral March’, by the band
who led
the singing of the hymns ‘O God our Help’ ‘O Valiant Hearts’ and ‘The
Saints of
God’. The lesson
was read by the Revd W
Lea of the Baptist Church, and the dedicatory prayer by the vicar the
Revd
C Hemsley. Major
Cumberlege
unveiled the cross, saying that the coming generation would, by such
memorials,
be stimulated to follow these lads’ example. After the
sounding of
the ‘Last Post’ and the placing of wreaths by the relatives, the
ex-servicemen
of the parish and the Women’s Institute, at the foot of the cross, Mr W
Hipwell
said he was one of the oldest in the neighbourhood and had known
Thurleigh all
his life. He had therefore taken a great interest in that memorial. It
was
difficult to speak of matters concerning the war as there were present
who had
had far more experience than he had.
He
desired to say that these monuments which were being erected in the
different
parishes were not only monuments in memory of those who fell in action,
and
with whose relatives they so greatly sympathised,
but were also monuments of thankfulness for
the return of those who came through unscathed. To them for all their
services
they tendered grateful thanks and that memorial was for them as well as
for the
fallen. We were
thankful that we won the
war. If we had lost
it might have meant
the march of the invaders through our country, the destruction of our
cottages
and residences, and the demolishing of our schools and other
institutions, and
the desecration of the sacred monuments of our village Churches. He had
seen
three generations of Thurleigh men and looked on Thurleigh as one of
the most
typical agricultural villages. There was always plenty of opportunity
for one
to earn one’s living in the neighbourhood. He hoped the young men of
Thurleigh
would keep up the old traditions and if they did they could claim to
rank
amongst the best agricultural labourers in Bedfordshire. Although we
had
achieved much there were only before us great perils and it was only by
the
union and hard work of all classes and by the following of those
principles
which had been followed in
that country
for many years that we would get over our difficulties.
It was only thus that it could be said of us,
as of our forefathers, who had singular difficulties to overcome, that
we
upheld the honour of Old England. The memorial
bore this
inscription in bold lead lettering:-
“To the glory of God and in grateful memory of the men of
Thurleigh who
fell in the Great War, 1914 – 1918.
Sergt
F R V Asplin, Grenadier Guards; Sergt
G
Jeffries, East Surrey Regt; Sergt
R
Piggott, Royal Horse Guards; L/Cpl
J W
Draper, Beds Regt; Pte C H Coleman, Essex Regt;
Pte W J Holley, Beds Regt;
Pte E
W Lovell, Beds Regt; Pte
A F Flute,
Canadians; Ptes C W Hart, R P Lovell and F Philpot East Surrey Regt;
Pte A E
Lovell, Notts and Derby.” It is saddening to report that in 2009 two urns, flanking the memorial and placed there in memory of the fallen, were stolen. They have not yet been recovered so if anyone knows of a pair of aged urns which may have appeared on gates or in a garden project somewhere, please contact Bedfordshire Police. |
