A memorial commemorating the lives of nine soldiers from Churton village tragically killed during the First and the Second World Wars was unveiled at a poignant ceremony on Saturday.
The Duke of Westminster laid a wreath and addressed the dozens of people in attendance.
He said: “It is only right that we pay tribute to their brave sacrifice and it is all the more poignant as in 2018 we mark the centenary of the end of what became known as the Great War.
“Although I have never been a soldier like many of my forebears, it is a privilege to continue the tradition of recognising and celebrating our armed forces.
“Churton is a village I know well from growing up at Eaton. It has a long history and is in an important part of the Eaton Estate. Its role in the wars, and that of its people, has now been etched in stone.”
Designed by architect Sandra Murray, the memorial was made by Chester stone-mason Neil Andrews.
The unveiling ceremony was the culmination of several years’ hard work and fundraising by the Churton War Memorial Committee, chaired and founded by John Gallagher.
“Our village has for far too long lost its connection with its war dead,” said Mr Gallagher. “We truly have made good on our remembrance in commemorating the men from Churton who died in defence of their country. And whilst Churton holds this memorial, the residents of the village have a focal point where passersby may stop and contemplate nine brave men who none of us ever knew.
“Of the nine, only one is buried in his native land. The rest are buried in foreign soils of which, four of them have no known last resting place. Although we never knew them we do owe them our gratitude and we are duty bound to acknowledge and commemorate their deaths.”
The ceremony also included poet Rod Brookfield reciting his composition, “A lament for the Somme”, music from the Farndon and District Brass Band, including sounding the Last Post and the Rouse, and was closed with a reading of Psalm 46 by Reverend Captain David Scurr, of St Chad’s Church Farndon, and Reverend Karl Jones, vicar of Aldford.
Those whose donations made the memorial possible include Michael Trevor-Barnston MBE, Cllr Howard Greenwood, the Cheshire PALS, Waitrose and the John Lewis Partnership, the Westminster Foundation – which represents the philanthropic activities of the Grosvenor family, the Anne Duchess of Westminster Charity, the Earl of Chester’s Fund, the Rotary Club of Chester, The Albion Inn, Chester, and the Steve Morgan Foundation.
The memorial commemorates the lives of the following people: World War One Sergeant George White South Lancashire Regiment died August 8, 1915 Pte Francis White Cheshire Regiment died July 2, 1917 Pte Charles Williamson South Lancashire Regiment October 21, 1916 Pte Wilfred Mayers South Lancashire Regiment died September 24, 1917 Pte Albert White Cheshire Regiment died September, 26, 1917 Pte John Foster Powell Kings Regiment, Labour Corps died May 31, 1918 Lance Corporal Charles Henry White DCM Border Regiment died August 22, 1918 Pte Herbert John Mellor Royal Fusiliers died August 25, 1918 The three White brothers (Charles, George and Francis) were casualties of war and joined by their cousin Albert and brother-in-law Wilfred Mayers. Francis White died from wounds sustained the first day of the Somme offensive. He was seventeen years old. World War Two Pte Joseph Glyn Clarke 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment died December 17, 1939 Private Clarke has the sad distinction of being the Cheshire Regiment’s first recorded fatality during World War Two. He died in Port Sudan, and is buried in Khartoum. The average age of Churton’s war dead was 23 years. |
