Wickersley and the World Wars

The Memorial Cross – also known as the War Memorial was unveiled on 26^th June 1920 – 100 years old in June 2020. The makers were Clarkson & Co, and the cross is 14' 6" high. The building of it was funded by the Parish Council. There is a lovely story that when the cross was unveiled a Beech Tree was planted as part of the ceremony. However a few days later, the tree died and several of the Parish Councillors, including 'old Councillor Godley' went to replace it one night in the hope that no-one noticed!! Did they??

Commonwealth War Graves

There are four Commonwealth War Graves in St Albans Cemetery. Two from World War 1 and Two from World War 2

These are the names of the soldiers buried here.

Pioneer W Bell, Royal Engineers, died 12^th June 1918, age 31 years

Driver G H Carr, Royal Horse Artillery, died 15 Sept 1915, age 19yrs

Corporal R Foster, The Leicestershire Regiment, died 3^rd September 1940, age 28

Sergeant J Rawson, Air Gunner, Royal Air Force, died 24^th December1943, age 31

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) honours the 1.7 million men and women who died in the armed forces of the British Empire during the First and Second World Wars, and ensures they will never be forgotten.

Their work began with building, and now maintaining, cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations in more than 150 countries and territories, and managing the official casualty database archives for member nations.

Their core principles, articulated in their Royal Charter in 1917, are as relevant now as they were 100 years ago:

• Each of the Commonwealth dead should be commemorated by name on a headstone or memorial
• Headstones and memorials should be permanent
• Headstones should be uniform

Since their establishment, the CWGC have constructed 2,500 war cemeteries and plots, and have erected headstones over more than a million burials at military and civil sites across the world. Individuals who have no known grave are commemorated by name on a Memorial to the Missing. The names and service details recorded in CWGC archives were taken from official military sources, where they were available.

The founders of the IWGC were determined that on the battlefields of the Western Front, all men should be commemorated equally. But there were more distant places where that did not happen.

Wickersley Home Guard

The Local Defence Force (LDV) was formed after an appeal by the Government in May 1940. The name was changed to the 'Home Guard' in August 1940

The images below show the Wickersley Home Guard

The Cross is situated in what became the Silver Jubilee Memorial Gardens where a Plaque commemorates the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary on 6^th May 1935