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Unveiled on February 20th 1921 by Colonel Clayton, the Burwell war memorial is at what is now 19 The Causeway, Burwell and was built as a house for the District Nurse. It had
three memorial plaques, containing the names of the fallen (in alphabetical order) of the Great War, on the gable end wall surmounted by a cross in red brick
and a stone planter below the memorial. The panels are of limestone with the names incised and painted black.
Above the panels is inscribed:- |
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After World War Two, two more tablets were installed, one either side of the original three, to contain the names of the fallen from that conflict.
A small panel with identical lettering but slightly different stone was added later, detailing five names that had been missed.
During the build up to the millennium celebrations it was discovered that some names had been omitted from the memorial, those of four men from World War I,
two from World War II and three who died in subsequent conflicts. It was decided that these should be added to the memorial. Therefore, in June 2003 War
Memorials Trust gave £250 towards work to build two new walls at right angles to the memorial, each if which was to support a new panel, erect these two new
memorial panels and clean and re-point stonework where necessary and re-paint all lettering. The memorial was re-dedicated on Sunday 12th October 2003 and
unveiled by the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire,Hugh Duberly Sadly it did not end there, in 2010 another Burwell man was killed in Afghanistan and his name is now added to the post scriptum panel and dedicated on 10th October 2010. Post scriptum plaques were dedicated in St Mary's Church on Sunday 16th October 2011. |
Unveiling postcard 1921 Unveiling postcard 1921
The memorials in St Mary's church
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In March 1920 a faculty was obtained to place the memorial, which may have originally been located elsewhere in the Church, in the south aisle. A second
faculty was obtained in 1948 for the addition of the World War Two commemoration to the memorial; this being undertaken by Messrs Ivett and Read of Cambridge. The memorial is a fixture in the south aisle of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Burwell, consisting of a gabled wooden plaque supported by plain pilasters on the sides. The principal feature of the plaque is a depiction of the crucifixion of Christ; the cross shaft divides vertically the plaque to form two panels inscribed as rolls of honour. The small plate on the upper arm of the cross bears the inscription "INRI". Both of the main panels of the plaque bear the names of thirty-one men who were killed during the First World War. The names are annotated with their regiment, corps or arm of Service, and ranks for officers, and except for a few exceptions are listed chronologically by date of death from top to bottom, left to right. The lettering on the main panels is in black, with that on the smaller panels at the bottom in gold. Beneath the plaque is a tripartite plinth made of Ketton stone, the central portion of which protrudes slightly. The centre panel is inscribed as a roll of honour with dedicatory inscriptions on the outer panels. The floor paving of the aisle in the immediate vicinity of the memorial is associated and laid as part of the memorial and has an inscription highlighting this. Lettering on the stone surfaces is in black. A plaque for World War I and World War II names: In 2010, a grant of £200 was offered through the Small Grants Scheme of the War Memorials Trust towards the addition of plaques to record the names of those who had been missed off the original memorial and to subsequent conflicts, including that of a soldier killed in Afghanistan in January 2010. This work consisted of the addition of two English oak panels in the style of the original and mounted one either side of the existing panel. Names were sign-written in black to match the existing in font, style and format. The new panels were dedicated during a service held on 16th October 2011 when the panels were formally unveiled. The dedication was performed by the Archdeacon of Cambridge, the Venerable John Beer. The service was attended by some two-hundred people, including family members of those named on the new panels. The bottom of the plaque is inscribed: "They died that we might live" The smaller left panel bears the inscription: "Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord" Whilst the smaller right panel continues: "and let light perpetual shine upon them" The centre panel of the stone plinth is headed "1939 - 1945" beneath which are the names of twenty-four men killed during World War Two; again, annotated with their regiment, corps or arm of Service. To the left of this is the inscription:"In honoured memory of the men of this parish who gave their lives in the Second World War" The right of the plinth is inscribed: "May the living never fail to render to God and to their fellows service demanding sacrifice" The panel in the floor reads: "This floor was laid and the names inscribed above as a memorial to those who died in the war of 1939-1945" The new panel mounted to the left of the original is inscribed: "Post inscriptum 1914-1918" and beneath this are the names of eleven men killed in the First World War; with ranks included. Underneath these names is inscribed "1939-1945" followed by one Serviceman (rank given) and one civilian who died during World War Two. The new panel mounted to the right of the original bears the inscription: "Died while serving their country". The names of four men are commemorated, with ranks annotated; one killed during the Korean War in 1951, one serving with the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in 1955, one serving with the Royal Air Force in 1961 and the last (and most recent) killed in Afghanistan in 2010.. |
"St Mary's", Burwell Baptist Church, Burwell The Cemetery, Burwell
