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Memorials
Memorials to West Deeping’s WW1 servicemen
As in many villages, West Deeping’s war memorials are in the parish church – St Andrew’s. On the chancel archway is a splendid brass plaque commemorating eight men of the parish ‘who gave their lives for their country in the Great War of 1914-1918’
Finding the history of these memorials was not straightforward– there is no record of them in either the Parish Council minutes or the Vestry minutes. It was a newspaper article from the Lincolnshire Free Press, dated April 1919, that reported a donation to the War Memorial Fund by Mr W.E. Porter (local farmer and owner of West Deeping Manor between 1917 and 1923). It was to be used for ‘A tablet in the Parish Church, with the names inscribed of soldiers from the village who have made the supreme sacrifice, a framed Roll of Honour of all who have served, and the renovation of the reading room’. First World War Servicemen’s list, restored July 2017. Photo: Paul Bragg
First World War memorial plaque in St Andrew’s Church, West Deeping
Many more men from the village went to war – and came back. The memorial to these servicemen who ‘responded to the call of their King and country …’ is a carefully hand-lettered vellum scroll mounted behind glass in a heavy oak frame. It names 32 men and when they enlisted. This now hangs in the south aisle, not far from the brass plaque. ‘War Memorial Dedicated’
This was the headline for a newspaper article dated March 1920, when the brass plaque was unveiled and dedicated by the new Bishop of Lincoln.
‘… the Bishop drew aside the Union Jack which had screened the memorial tablet and then read the impressive dedicatory prayer, the whole congregation standing reverently with bowed heads.’ The dedications over, Mr W Day of Market Deeping sounded the ‘Last Post’ on the bugle. The Lord Bishop delivered an impressive address after the ceremony. He said … “it was well that the people of future generations should know who were the men of the village who gave their lives for the cause of justice and righteousness”. His Lordship concluded a fine address with the words “May the memory of the sacrifice made by the brave boys whose names are written on the tablet hallow and bless all your village life.”’
Re-dedication
To mark the centenary of the end of the war in 2018, St Andrew’s Church will welcome some of the families related to those West Deeping servicemen. There is to be a special service to re-dedicate the newlyrestored Roll of Honour at St Andrew’s Church, West Deeping on Sunday 4th November at 10.30, led by Reverend Stewart Shaw, chaplain of RAF Wittering. A contingent of the Royal British Legion will also take part and all are welcome.
The church will be open throughout the weekend with a display of the photographs and information about the village of 100 years ago and the men who went to war.
Restoration of scroll
The centenary in 2014 of the start of the war brought several visitors to look for the names of their families, and West Deeping Heritage Group began to research the names on the memorials for a district-wide Roll of Honour, which featured in The Deepings Remember 1914-1918 exhibition four years ago.
It was embarrassing that the scroll and its frame looked such a mess! There was an unsightly stain on the vellum, caused by damp and mould, the wooden frame was marked with bat droppings and water stains and the metal fixings were corroding into the wall.
West Deeping Heritage Group suggested that the memorial should be restored and moved elsewhere in the church, ideally closer to the other war memorials. Thanks to the efforts of the Churchwarden and with the support of the Parochial Parish Council, the project became possible in spring 2017 when a grant was approved by the War Memorials Trust. Penny Jenkins is a professional conservator and restorer based in Cambridge. Having removed the backing from the oak frame to reveal the extent of the damage, she discovered pencilled inscriptions on the back of the vellum, which provide the best evidence there is of its fabrication and installation.
It was undoubtedly the calligrapher who wrote: ‘Emmeline Winterton Radford for the Warham Guild, 28 Margaret Street, Oxford Circus, London W. July 24 1922.’ Further research on the Warham Guild fills in the details – it was an association of craftspeople formed in 1912 to provide Conservation and restoration by Penny Jenkins
high quality church ornaments, including vestments, altar furnishings, wood and metalwork as well as monuments and war memorials. On the bottom righthand corner are the words, in his own distinctive handwriting: ‘Fitted and Fixed by W. Ackland. West Deeping Aug 3rd 1922’. William Ackland was the village wheelwright, carpenter, undertaker and Clerk to the Parish Council since its creation in 1919.
Words: Maggie Ashcroft, West Deeping Heritage Group
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