Colwall’s War Memorial
Colin Fenn writes about the village War Memorial.
Take a look at our many war memorials. Have you ever wondered why they are where they are? Often they’re to be found in a churchyard, or in a public square or garden, but sometimes they’re built as a memorial village hall. They vary because there were often disputes about how and where to memorialise the fallen from World War I.
For example, in some places where there was a large non-conformist population - or the parish vicar was unpopular - the community would demand that the memorial be located away from the parish church in a secular, public space. Colwall’s memorial sits on the boundary of St James’ churchyard, in a well-tended garden next to the Ale House. Its location here reflects the efforts of the Rector of Colwall at the time.
War memorials were normally paid for by public subscription, but in Colwall the subscription was augmented by the proceeds of the sale of sheet music for the popular patriotic hymn ‘The Supreme Sacrifice’, also known as ‘O Valiant Hearts’. Its words came from a poem by Sir John Stanhope Arkwright (MP for Hereford and great-great grandson of industrialist Sir Richard Arkwright), while its music was composed by the Reverend Dr Charles Harris, Rector of Colwall. A century later, it is still played on sombre occasions such as Prince Philip’s funeral:
“O valiant hearts who to your glory came
Through dust of conflict and through battle flame;
Tranquil you lie, your knightly virtue proved,
Your memory hallowed in the land you loved.”
Colwall’s war memorial was chosen as a gabled, Portland stone cross bearing a symbolic crucifixion. It was unveiled on Sunday 12 December 1920. Listed on the eight faces of the pedestal are the names of 49 villagers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War, including Revd Harris’ own son, Noel Charles Harris. Thirteen more names were added after WWII, and another 14 villagers were identified and added on a separate plaque this year.
Engraved on the memorial is a reference to Ecclesiasticus XLIV.14, a line in the Apocrypha that reads: “Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.”