The original War Memorial was erected in 1921 to commemorate the lives of those local people lost in the Great War. The memorial was funded by public donation and the land on which it sits was donated to the parish by Colonel Godwin-Austen, a local landowner. A report in The Surrey Advertiser of the Dedication of the Memorial on Sunday July 17, 1921 stated that about 1,000 people assembled to witness the unveiling and dedication of the memorial cross.
Sadly, one hundred years later on New Year’s Eve 2021, a vehicle destroyed the cross and damaged much of the base of the memorial, leaving the Community Council with many challenges to face with its reconstruction, not least funding the project. A crowdfunder was very helpful in raising £15,000 towards the cost but the first contractor appointed had to withdraw before any work was started due to pressure of other work. Another challenge was sourcing the original Doulting stone (a Jurassic limestone quarried from near Shepton Mallet) of sufficient quality and quantity.
Since the original memorial was erected in 1921, further names had been added after WWII and a number of additional names were discovered which had not been recorded so in 2010 the parish council added a lectern to the site, which is still in place, listing the extended record of names. Since the new memorial is a replica of the original, it did not have space for the extended list to be fitted on the central stones in a point size that would be legible and long lasting. Discussions with Guildford BC resulted in an agreement to add the names on granite panels, a much more forgiving stone for this type of work. But this also added significantly to the cost which finally came in at £51,325. This funding was made up of an insurance claim, the crowdfunder and council reserves.
The work was carried out by PAYE Stonework and Restoration, selected by the Community Council as well known and very experienced professionals in the field. Work to erect the new memorial, the preparatory work for which had taken several months to complete, was started on 18 October 2024 and completed on 31st October in time for the following month’s Remembrance Service.