A time to remember
Above: The village war memorial
IT is not by accident that in the month of remembrance, the focus of November’s article should lean towards war and the memorial that stands on the crossroads at the centre of the village as a mark of respect to those from Little Berkhamsted who died in two World Wars.
The memorial has been lovingly restored with money from the parish council purse and grants from East Herts Council and The War Memorials Trust, which is funded by English Heritage and The Wolfson Foundation.
First unveiled to the village in 1921, funded by public subscription in the parish to commemorate the ‘nine heroes of Little Berkhamsted’ lost in the Great War, the memorial was reworked only 25 years later to honour the further seven parishioners who died in World War II.
The touching tribute takes the form of a tall cross with a bronze, Commonwealth War Graves Commission-type sword set on an octagonal base and plinth. The cross, base and plinth have been fashioned out of Portland stone. The names of those men who gave their lives are engraved into the base.
This was the first major refurbishment of the monument which is a Grade II listed building and features on the national inventory of UK War Memorials.
Painstaking treatment carried out with meticulous precision by a team of specialists from Fairhaven of Anglesey Abbey, using a series of traditional techniques, have returned it to its former glory.
Chairman of the parish council, Councillor Chris Nunn, says, ‘We were very pleased with the work that has been carried out which has made an enormous difference to the memorial. It is a focal point of the village, and the cleaned and restored stonework now has a striking appearance, particularly in bright sunshine.’
The restoration process should mean that despite the pollution from exhaust pipes of vehicles passing through the village at the busy junction, it should remain in fine condition for at least the next decade.
In the past, Mr Nunn explains, some research into the names on the tribute has been undertaken. Although some information was discovered about each of the men killed in World War II, the history of the nine killed in the earlier war has not yet been investigated.
The parish council would like to learn more about John Barnacott, Edward Beacher, Henry Gaylor, James Gaylor, Albert Edward Haynes, Walter Lashford, Charles Alfred Parkins, John Stanley Ruthven and Arthur Tyler and are encouraging anyone with information or with an interest in local history to get in touch.
Staying in Little Berkhamsted, for love we turn to another unmistakable focal point of any village – its pub. Many will have celebrated finding love or commiserated a lost love in their local. Recently, the village was overrun as filming for a romantic comedy due to be released in 2008 took place inside The Five Horseshoes pub.
Landlord Michael Wells was surprised to be approached by a location manager asking to have a look around his pub but agreed nevertheless and was soon playing host to a cast and crew of around 50 people who descended on the village, taking over the recreation ground with a convoy of trailers for stars including Patrick Dempsey of Grey’s Anatomy fame and Michelle Monaghan who appeared in The Bourne Supremacy and Mission Impossible III.
Luckily the refurbishment of the pub that had taken place earlier in the year didn’t strip it of its traditional features as they are what sold the setting to the Made of Honour movie-makers.
Michael explains, ‘It was really interesting to watch what they did and to get a close-up view of what goes on behind the scenes. The turnaround of the pub was amazing. It took a day for them to set it up as they took photographs of where all of our stuff went but only two hours to clear down and replace it all perfectly so we could reopen for business on the evening of the last day of filming, it was an incredible turn of speed.’
Villagers keen to spot their local will need to look out for the scenes of a stag party in a fishing pub on the Isle of Skye when the film – whose title is not yet known – comes out.
Article taken from November issue of Hertfordshire Life