Visit to Lady Hawkins School, Kington

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On 11th November, I was invited to Lady Hawkins School, Kington, to be part of the unveiling ceremony of large carved limestone rock, erected in front of the school as a memorial to pupils from the school who had died in wars from 1914 to date. I shared the unveiling with Bob Widdowson, the Mayor of Kington.
The school assembled with some older pupils from the primary school, and a short service was held, during which the names of the fallen were read out. They are commemorated by name in several sandstone slabs that form a pathway up to the memorial, next to which is also a carved stone seat.
The memorial project was the idea of Nic Dinsdale, a long-serving history master at the school, and was supported by the school Governors and Headteacher, Paul Jennings. Nic leads school tours to battle fields in Belgium and France where some of the fallen were in action. Local firms were involved in the p[roject, and a birch tree, given by the Banks family, was planted next to the memorial.
It was a moving and well-organised occasion and the culmination of much hard work by the team involved, a tribute to them and the generous local firms and individuals who made it possible.

James Hervey-Bathurst