Pirton War Memorial

Jennifer Ayto

A War Memorial is a familiar sight throughout the county but fulfilling a desire to remember the fallen was time consuming and not always straightforward.  In Pirton, the  Parish Council discussed the matter on 29 January 1919 and it was agreed to call a meeting  for the following week.*

The meeting included the parish officers and thirteen  parishioners.  The motion  “That a memorial be erected” was carried unanimously.  Discussion then turned to the form it should take.  The vicar favoured the idea of a new stained-glass window opposite the porch in the church  or the erection of a stone column in the churchyard.  Other suggestions were made on the basis that they might be useful, such as a Reading room, a home for the parish nurse or a recreation ground and garden for the children.  It was decided to adjourn the meeting to 12 February because of the inclement weather.  (The Times weather forecast for the day was dull with sleet or snow).

The minutes of the next meeting record:

It was unanimously decided to erect a monument in the Churchyard to those who have fallen in the War”.  A Committee was set up to carry out this object with the power to select the most suitable position for the obelisk. Several designs were considered and that from Messrs Maile and Son of London accepted.  The inclusive cost was to be £120 with £20 paid in advance.

By 9 April, there was agreement on the site and although the Vicar agreed to forgo his fee for breaking the ground, application had to be made for a Faculty (the right to undertake work in church grounds) for erection of the memorial.  The Inscription was agreed as:

To the Glory of God and in memory of the men of this parish who died to win victory for their country and liberty in the Great War.  1914 – 1918.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”.

By August, it was noted that  £103. 1. 6d had been donated.  £20 had been paid to Maile and Sons plus 21 shillings for the Faculty.  However, the Committee were unprepared for a bill for £23 for the Inscription, Regiments and Date of the fallen as they had understood that the total cost was to be £120.  They then proceeded to view the obelisk and found the “spire” some four inches out of the straight line.  Upon returning, after discussion, it was agreed to take legal advice as to the extra charges and the unsatisfactory condition of the monument.  The Secretary was to consult a solicitor.

At the meeting on 28 August it was resolved that they were dissatisfied with look of the monument and the unsatisfactory  answer from Maile and Son and agreed to engage Mr Millard, an Architect from Hitchin, to examine the obelisk and report.  What transpired is not recorded in the parish minute book but by March 1920 Maile and Son had agreed on £120 in settlement of the account.  Arrangements were made to turf around the obelisk and add the names of those who had passed away since the names had been engraved. Two iron lengths of fencing were ordered from Gatwards in Hitchin. The Dedication service was planned for after Easter in April 1920.

By 1945, thought was being given to a memorial to those who had lost their lives in the second world war.  Although the Parish council minutes for 27 March 1945 record that they would discuss a war memorial at some future date, there is no record until the end of 1946.

The 3 December 1946 meeting noted a letter from the Pirton branch of the British Legion asking for names of fallen in 1939-1945 to be inscribed on the war memorial.  The reaction was that as the memorial had been paid for by public subscription, the upkeep and maintenance was not vested in the Council.  It was, therefore, not for the Council to deal with the matter and the Secretary was  to write to  the British Legion suggesting another public subscription.  This did not go down well.  The 28 March 1947 minutes record that “a certain amount of ill feeling has been caused”.  The Legion only required  the Council to initiate the method of obtaining money for the additional names to be added – not to provide it.  “The Clerk was instructed to write  a letter of apology to the Secretary of the British Legion.

The memorial has the names of the 30 Pirton men who were killed in the Great War and also the six from the second world war.

 

*HALS/CP74 1/1 – Pirton Parish Council Minute Book.

 

Pirton War Memorial
Lucinda Rowe
This page was added on 05/02/2022.

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