TOPIC:

Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Edmund Thursby, 5th Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Died at Sutherland, South Africa, of enteric fever on 7th March 1902, aged 41. The memorial pulpit, plaque and cross are in St. Mary's Church, Priors Hardwick, Warwickshire.

Berenice

Thank you for showing the memorials to Colonel Thursby

Given the state of the world today, I wonder what becomes of such memorials if and when the church is closed. The contents of those churches that are secured, and which can be visited by arrangement, must be safe (although not in South Africa), but what of the rest that are sold and then put to other use?

Regards
Brett

A most interesting and very unusual set of memorials, a sad end, but, a very typical for so many, it seems such a waste.

Frank Kelley wrote: A most interesting and very unusual set of memorials, a sad end, but, a very typical for so many, it seems such a waste.

I wonder if any other original cemetery crosses were brought back to the UK; this one was difficult to photograph because of the heavy speaker placed directly in front of it.

Brett, plaques can be moved to a nearby church or village hall, keeping them in the community - sometimes they can end up in museums or archives - but stained glass windows can be lost if a church building is knocked down, or sometimes retained in the building if it's converted to another use. What seems to be lost to us more often than anything else are handwritten rolls of honour. I don't think many people appreciate the historical importance of them.

I know that a number of crosses were sent to Canada after WW1 when the proper headstones were inserted.......

Mike

Berenice

You are fortunate that in Britain there is still a good chance that the contents of disused churches will find a safe home elsewhere. I do not believe that this is the case in South Africa.

Also, over the years I have come to realise that it is not only our officials who are largely indifferent to our cultural heritage, but also family members. They often know that medals have a value, and so keep them, perhaps to exchange for money later, but fail to see the significance of the papers and other relics that belonged to their departed kin. An extreme example was that of a retired Indian Army/South African Army Colonel with the DSO, whose family kept his medals - at least my informant thought her brother had them - but destroyed every other record of his life.

Regards
Brett