Royston’s war memorials
“We need to remember The Fallen!"
Royston’s war memorial in Melbourn Street
As early as Summer 1916 Reverend Joseph Harrison began to think about a memorial to those who were dying in the conflict. No doubt this decision was influenced by the reports of deaths at the Somme in July that year.
He believed that a stained glass window for the Parish Church of St John the Baptist would be appropriate and started a collection within the town to fund its creation and installation. Funds were raised but this memorial never came to fruition and it was not until after the war that the town’s thoughts once again turned to a fitting tribute to those who had died.
The men on the memorial
You can find brief details of the men who are listed on the memorial by following this link.
Men on the memorialWhat form should it take?
In 1919 a Committee was established to take charge of the decision making process. It was charged with hearing representations from the public and with forming a Subcommittee to deal with detail of its design, to ensure it progressed and to consider the names to be included.
It was decided that the Committee should be formed of members of the then Urban District Council together with five representatives of the local churches (including Josiah Whydale, the father of the well known artist E. Herbert Whydale), eight fathers who had lost sons in the war, a representative of the Royston branch of the Discharged Sailors and Soldiers Federation and four ladies to represent the widows and other relatives of those who had died.
The Subcommittee had to decide who should be commissioned to design it and, in consultation with the architect, where it should be sited.
The architect chosen was Percy Richard Morley Horder of London. Sculptures were commissioned from Benjamin Clemens and William Fagan.
A model of the design was made and remained with the architect in his London offices. It was never sent to Royston although another made by Mr W. J. Wilkerson based on the plans was placed on display in the window of Messrs Abbott and Son so that the public could get a sense of the design.
The memorial was Grade II listed on 2nd August 2001.
Referendum
In early 1919 a referendum was conducted among some of those who would make substantial financial contributions.
25 were in favour of a monument and pledged £271.
6 were in favour of a YMCA with £58 pledged.
Other options considered
The establishment of a Trust Fund for the Children of the Dead (with £4,000 to £5,000 being considered an appropriate amount) together with a brass plate listing the names of the dead.
Two new bells for the Church to cost £180 and for which the money had already been raised.
A Roll of Honour on a metal plate for the Church wall costing £50.
A stained glass window at £300
The Committee will decide
Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Celebration Committee
Back row : John Phillips, GW Howard, WT Rowley, Ellis Wilkerson, Rev. TH Lomas, Alfred Kingston, E Matthews, TL Gimson, WC Titchmarsh, AJ Jacklin, Charles Warren
Middle Row : Rev. J Harrison, Joseph E Phillips, FN Fordham, FJ Fordham, Dr. HR Archer, Harry Smith
Front Row: HS Tuke, AT Titchmarsh, S Camps, A Cheshire, G Cautherley, Thomas Goodman
Many of these men were still involved with the administration of the town following the war.
At this time much of the town’s business was conducted by those with some standing in the community. These tended to be men from the middle classes who were used to running businesses and achieving their aims.
The chairman of the Committee was Mr David Bevan. The Urban District Council was also represented together with other members of the local community. However, it fell to the members of a Sub-committee to ensure that the project was delivered.
The Sub-committee
Among the members of the Sub-committee were Mr. David Bevan, Mr. Charles Whyatt, a local builder, and Dr. C. W. Windsor, a local doctor, W.C Titchmarsh, the Council Leader, Simms Camp and J.B. Bishop.
These men had the job of liaising with the chosen architect, Mr. Percy Morley Horder, and the other craftsmen involved with the construction of the memorial and to ensure progress was reported back to the full committee and members of the public.
David Augustus Bevan
David Bevan was the driving force behind many of the decisions made regarding the design and placement of the memorial as it was to be built.
Together with Lord Knutsford, he purchased the land on which the memorial now stands and the pair donated it to the town for its construction.
During World War I David Bevan was Section Leader of the Special Constables. His wife Dame Maud, and daughter, Nancy, were involved with the Red Cross with Maud acting as Commandant of the auxiliary hospital in Queens Road. Two of his sons, John and Thomas, were with the Hertfordshire Regiment.
The architect
Percy Richard Morley Horder
Born in Torquay in 1870, he was the son of Congregationalist minister, William Garrett Horder.
He is not well remembered today but was very successful. He designed a number of notable buildings including the Trent Building at the University of Nottingham and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine both of which are impressive neo-classical structures.
He was an eccentric character being described by his daughter as “most charming … and most awful” and by his pupils as “Holy Murder”. He was said have “looked and behaved like a cantankerous Old Testament prophet”.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
© Anne Koerber
Trent Building, University of Nottingham
© David Lally
The Bronzes
William Bateman Fagan
William Fagan was born in Bermondsey, London in 1860. He was educated in Dulwich and attended the South London Technical School of Art between 1881 and 1885.
Between 1915 and 1919 he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps at the 3rd London General Hospital.
An architectural sculptor working in bronze, stone and concrete, he worked on a number of English cathedrals and municipal buildings.
His most important commission was for the Imperial Chemical Industries Building in Milbank, London. The most visible contribution are the doors on the main entrance which are modelled on those at the Baptistry in Florence.
Benjamin Clemens
Benjamin Clemens was born in Dalston, London in 1875 and turned to the study of art at the age of 25. He attended the North London School of Drawing and the Royal College of Art.
He served with the British Expeditionary Force and the Royal Army Medical Corps. An exhibition by members of the RAMC at the Imperial War Museum in 1920 included some of his work.
He was commissioned to make the four figures on the Canterbury War Memorial and the figure group on Africa House, Kingsway, London. His group "The St John Ambulance Bearers” was also used as cover art for the album “Setting Sons” by The Jam.
The craftsmen
Stonemasons - Messrs. W Whitehead & Sons
The long established firm of monumental masons run by William Whitehead from their premises at 12 Melbourn Road produced some of its finest work when fashioning the stonework for the memorial, including the bas relief warriors behind the bronzes.
Builders - Messrs. Jacklin & Co.
Local builders Jacklin & Co constructed the monument using hand made red bricks. Over time the company went through several incarnations including Jacklin Hales & Co and Jacklin Kelly & Co.
Members of both families served in the war.
Sources
historicengland.org.uk
iwm.org.uk/memorials
sculpture.gla.ac.uk
wikipedia.org
The figures portrayed
Central figues
The memorial has a number of figures depicted as a background to the bronze statue of a typical British “Tommy”.
They represent some of the fighting men of past eras through which the town has existed and to which it may have contributed. From left to right they are -
Figure 1 - An bowman from Agincourt.
Figure 2 - A medieval knight.
Figure 3 - An Elizabethan soldier.
Figure 4 - Thomas Cartwight
Figure 5 - A “Roundhead” form the 1642 - 1651 civil war.
Figure 6 - An 18th century soldier.
In the centre of the group (figure 4) stands Thomas Cartwright. Believed to have been born in Royston in 1535, he was a prominent Puritan churchman during the latter part of the 16th century.
Completing the group is a sculpture of the Royston Crow in bronze.
Thomas Cartwright
The dedication ceremony
The ceremony of dedication was held on the afternoon of Sunday, 26th March 1922.
The procession formed on Market Hill and made its way via the High Street to Melbourn Street and the Memorial. It was headed by the Royston Town Silver Prize Band and the Reverends J Harrison and R. W. Jackson.
A large number of relatives of fallen local men carried wreaths and were followed by 150 Royston ex-service men lead by Lieutenant Colonel E. C. M. Philips and other dignitaries together with 52 men of the Herts. Yeomanry under Lieutenant T. H. Green.
In all, some 3,000 people attended the dedication. Mostly they came from the town and its surrounding villages although some came from as far away as London with one father coming from Portsmouth.
Changes to the memorial
Originally the names of 114 men from the Great War appeared on the memorial. Following its dedication two further names were added bringing the total to 116.
The names of 25 men who lost their lives in the Second World War were added to the central area beneath the bronze figures.
Over time, weather conditions caused the memorial to degrade and many of the names, particularly on the left hand panel, became difficult to read. Recent work has restored both panels and the names are once again clearly visible. Additional lintels were placed above the panels to help ensure rainwater did not continue to disturb their fabric.
The dedication inscription
1914 - 1918
This memorial is erected to the glory of God and in proud and grateful memory of the men of Royston who at the call of duty left all that was dear to them to fight for King and country. They endured hardship, faced danger, suffered pain, and by the sacrifice of their lives brought victory, peace and freedom to their native land.
“Greater love hath no man than this.”
Royston’s other memorials
The town has a number of memorials to the fallen in addition to the main one in Melbourn Street. Some are within other churches in the town, others are in or on the periphery of the Priory Memorial Gardens.
Priory Memorial Gardens
The public gardens in the town centre were opened in 1949, having been taken over by the Urban District Council the year before.
The Dedication Service to the memory of those who died in the World War 2 took place in 1953.
This picture was published in the Crow in August 2005 and shows the opening ceremony on 31st July 1949 where the Deeds of the gardens were handed to the Chairman of the Urban District Council, Mr RH (Bob) Clark.
The Central Band of the RAF led the parade which included units from Bassingbourn RAF, the RAOC from the Militia Camp in Royston, the Royal British Legion and the Royal Air Forces Association.
Royal Naval Association and Royal Air Forces Gates
The entrance gates to the gardens from Melbourn Street were erected by both Associations in memory of those killed in the Second World War.
The original plaque beside the gates disappeared sometime around 1993. The replica on display today was placed in the original’s position on Saturday, 20th September 2003. It was unveiled by the vicar of Royston, Reverend Leslie Harman, in the presence of Mr. Peter King and Mr. Stan Hales who were the last surviving members of the Associations at the time of the original plaque’s dedication.
American Airmen
East Anglia saw many American servicemen arrive during WW2, especially airman. The 91st Bomber Group flew B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft out of Bassingbourn from 1942 to 1945.
The centre of the gardens hosts a memorial to the four squadrons who flew from there. The original fountain was replaced by the present granite obelisk in 1989 when it was rededicated to the memory of the men.
Offord Gates
These gates (shown here as they appeared in an article in the Crow) were donated by Alan Offord in memory of his brother, Walter George Offord, who was missing in action presumed killed on 24th August 1918. The left hand gate incorporates the initials “WGO”, the right hand gate “August 24 1918”.
They were officially dedicated and opened on Sunday, 31st May 1953 at the time of the Queen’s Coronation.
British Legion Gates
The gates, which open onto the main entrance to the Priory Memorial Gardens in Priory Lane, were presented to the town by the Royal British Legion when the gardens were opened in 1949.
Royston Company of the Home Guard
The final memorial in the Gardens is dedicated to four members of the Royston Company of the Hertfordshire Home Guard who died in the Second World War.
The entrance is not as well-used as others and it is easy to pass it by. However, the dedication on the gates is clear to read and is a testament to those whose duties were performed in this country but who still made the ultimate sacrifice.
Royal Anglians Hornbeam Tree
A hornbeam tree was planted and a plaque unveiled in November 2008 in memory of the Royal Anglians, the Queen's Regiment and the Royal Fusiliers, all of whom were based at Bassingbourn Barracks.
North wall of the Church - Exterior
Edward Francis Montagu Beldham
The Parish Church of St John the Baptist is adjacent to the gardens. It contains many inscriptions to local families. The Beldams were among the more prominent in the town.
At the bottom of the plaque on the outside of the north wall of the church is an entry marking the death of Edward Francis Montagu Beldam. He has no known grave but is remembered on the Tyne Cot memorial to the missing.
The Beldam family included Joseph Beldam, an English writer and historian who died in 1866 and was an advocate of the abolition of slavery. He is buried in the family vault at the Church.
North wall of the Church - Interior
Charles Stewart Cautherley
This plaque in memory of Lt. Cautherley is on the north wall of the Chancel. The inscription reads -
“In Loving Memory of Charles Stewart Cautherley of the Honourable Artillery Company and the Hertfordshire Regiment. Who sleeps near Ypres, France and Flanders, September 20th 1914, April 26th 1918.”
He served with the Honourable Artillery Company between 1909 and 1915, after which he was gazetted as an officer in the Hertfordshire Regiment in October 1915. He joined the 1st battalion in April 1916 and in September 1916 was reported as suffering from slight shell shock, although he returned to the Battalion soon afterwards.
Lieutenant Cautherley spent time in the First Army Provosts, returning to the Battalion on 10th April 1918 and was killed two weeks later. Charles was the son of Charles and Mary Stewart Cautherley, of Far Headingley, Leeds, the nephew of George Cautherley of Royston, and the grandson of Revd. Samuel Cautherley, the vicar of the Parish for 33 years.
A new headstone in Belgium
It was only recently that Lt. Cautherley ’s final resting place has been identified in the Poelcapelle British Cemetery, Belgium.
In March 2024 a dedication ceremony was held there unveiling a headstone which now marks his grave. Until then his grave has been marked as that of an “Unknown Officer” and he had been remembered on the Tyne Cot memorial to those who have no known grave.
Methodist Church
The Methodist Church in Mill Road had its plaque remembering the six men of its congregation who fell in Great War and a further three who died in World War 2
Congregational Churches
Royston Museum collection has two memorial plaques, one from the John Street Congregational Church, which does not list any names and one from the Kneesworth Street Congregational Church which does.