NEWSLETTER ISSUE 13
February 2012
News:
As ever, it has been a busy time for the War Memorials
Project, thanks to everyone who has been in touch and to new
contacts who have helped us with collecting information. It is just a quick
newsletter this time to keep you up-to-date!
Leicestershire Remembers 2011 was a success, and all the photographs of
Remembrance events that came in to us have been uploaded to the website
at www.leics.gov.uk/warmemorials/remembrance
We also now have a set of 8 pop-up banners that summarise the main
themes of the Project. Below you will find details of this being on show at
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre throughout this month
Events
War Memorials Project Exhibition, Bosworth Battlefield, February
2012 – FREE ENTRY
A set of banners about the Project will be on display in the
temporary exhibition room at Bosworth Battlefield
throughout February this year.
In conjunction with Richard Knox, Keeper at the Battlefield
Heritage Centre, we have produced a banner on the
fascinating subject of the memorials to the Battle of
Bosworth (1485).
The exhibition also features some ‘mystery’ and ‘orphan’
memorials currently being looked after by Mr C Stephens in
the City and another by members of the Barrow Upon Soar
Heritage Group.
The temporary exhibition room is free to enter, and the site is open from
10am to 4pm each day during the month.
Welford Road Cemetery, services in 2012:
Thanks go to Mr. C Stephens for the dates of the following:
• Wednesday 25th April 2012, 11am, Anzac Day Service of
Remembrance at the War Memorial Wall, Welford Road Cemetery,
organised by the Friends of Welford Road Cemetery.
• Saturday 10th November 2012, 11am, Short service and laying of
wreaths organised by the Friends of Welford Road Cemetery.
Conservation news:
This updated map shows the surveys we have been able to do over the past
few months (while the weather held!). As you can see, we have come across
a few that we are concerned about (red dots) and will be contacting the
custodians about embarking on conservation works.
The Carillon war memorial in Loughborough had SmartWater applied to
the plaques in December. They kindly sent me the remainder of SmartWater
donated to them by the Neighbourhood Watch team, for the purpose of
marking other metallic memorials in the Loughborough area.
It is thought that one war memorial every week is targeted for metal theft. To
find out about getting SmartWater for memorials near you, contact the War
Memorials Trust about their In Memoriam 2014 project, which provides advice
and fluid free of charge to custodians: www.inmemoriam2014.org
Recent recordings:
There are always so many new recordings coming in that it would be difficult
to list them all. We can mention, however, some new biographical information
for Coalville and Whitwick casualties, and new photographs of more Rutland
memorials, thanks to Mr Shelvey who created
the War Memorials of Rutland website
www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~shelvey. We also
have a new and intriguing school memorial
inside Nevill Holt church (shown right, as far as
we know the school was set up in 1919, but this
roll contains a very large number of names so
we wonder if it originally came from, possibly,
Uppingham?), and a new photograph of a school
memorial from Humphrey Perkins in Barrow
upon Soar. Very recently I received a research
folder on the memorials and men of Newtown
Linford; thanks go to everyone who sent things in, as well as those
unmentioned contributions since the last newsletter.
The War Horse of Woodhouse Eaves:
Thanks go to Brenda Barnard for the following extract from the Times. She
came upon this just before reading an account of Songster in the
Loughborough Echo. Brenda wrote: “I had the following article in my collection
and thought it might be of interest, with the film 'War Horse' just being
released:
THE TIMES, Wednesday, Jan 17 1940; pg. 5;
DEATH OF A WAR HORSE
Songster, a 39-year-old war horse, has died at Woodhouse Eaves,
Leicestershire, on the farm of his owner, ex-Squadron Sergeant Major H.
Poole, formerly of the Leicestershire Yeomanry. Songster, who was mobilized
with the regiment in 1914, served throughout the last war, after which he
attended Yeomanry camps until 1935, and was hunted with the Quorn.”
Brenda found that Kelly’s Directory of 1941 listed the tenant of West Beacon
Farm as Harry Poole. Could there be a war memorial to Songster on the
farm?
To read more about Songster, see
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Real-story-war-horse/story-14455861detail/story.html
Memorial Highlight:
The Gateway of the Dawn, St Margaret’s Church, Stoke Golding
This World War One memorial painting is named "The Gateway of the Dawn"
and shows five angels with a wounded soldier in the mountains, and has a
short inscription on the frame beneath:
1914-1918
THE GATEWAY OF THE DAWN
THE NIGHT IS O'ER, THE CONFLICT PAST, / THE DAY OF TRIUMPH
BREAK, AT LAST, / LO' THE ANGELS FROM THE DAWN / SHALL GUIDE
THEE TO YON RADIANT MORN / OF HEAVEN, FAIR PLAY, AWAKE,
ARISE, / FOR GOD ACCEPTS THY SACRIFICE
Not much is known about the painting, except that is may have been done by
Thomas Shilton in 1920. If anyone can fill us in, please do!
It is the only war memorial painting that we know of so far in the County, so it
is very significant in this respect.
Although not an original work, there is also
a print of a painting inside Frolesworth
church, which was recorded for us by Carol
Cambers, who also informed us that the
original, by George Hillyard Swinstead
(1860-1926), was sold in 2010 to raise
money for Help For Heroes.
This print is entitled The White Comrade,
and like the painting in Stoke Golding,
depicts the kinds of spiritual and
supernatural visions said to have been
common on the battlefield (like the famous
Angel of Mons).
Photograph (left) by Carol Cambers
Can you help?
Jungle Club memorial roll of honour – do you have pictures/names?
Janet Lucas is looking for information on the Jungle Club memorial roll of
honour – the former Working Men’s Club on Checkerist Road, Leicester. If
you know anything about this memorial, or have a photograph or list of
names, we would love to hear from you. You can get in touch with me at
Liz.Blood@leics.gov.uk or on 0116 3056187.
Mystery memorial fragment found in Barrow upon Soar:
Barrow upon Soar Heritage Group are looking for help in
tracing the origins of what looks to be a fragment of an
original World War One roll of honour or war memorial.
It consists of one plank of wood from the left side of a
larger memorial, and shows colour differentiation at the
top that suggests it being placed behind a frame of
tracery.
The mystery consists in having only fragments of names,
none of which match the known servicemen from Barrow
upon Soar, where it was found in a craftsman’s
workshop.
Names visible on fragment:
ARTHUR P
WILLIAM B
ERNEST C
WILLIAM B
THOMAS H
NORMAN E
EDWARD B
SAMUEL B
JOHN CAL
MATTHEW
HENRY P.
JOHN J C
ROBERT D
ALLAN DA
HUGH S E
WILLIAM
JOHN H. FIT
THOMAS
LAMONT
THOMAS W
FREDERICK
The names could be in alphabetical order, going on the
certain fragments of surnames (Cal, C, Da, E, Fit).
Please let Barrow know if you can help
via www.barrowuponsoarheritage.org.uk or phone Sue on 01509 414077.
As ever, if you have anything you would like to be included in coming
newsletters, please contact the project at warmemorials@leics.gov.uk or call
0116 3056187.
Many thanks once again for your support,
Liz Blood
Heritage Support and War Memorials Officer
Leicestershire County Council
Room 400, Penn Lloyd Building, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicestershire, LE3
8RA