FOLLOWING the First World war in 1918 a meeting was held at Leigh Hurst school to consider what steps should be taken to commemorate the ending of hostilities.

here were two suggestions, that a memorial be placed at Leigh Church and a Parish Memorial Hall should be considered for the benefit of the whole parish.

A committee was set up and a £700 of funds were raised by local subscription. A parcel of land suitable for the building of the hall and adjacent playing field was donated by Fredrick Padget Norbury, whose sisters were close friends of Sir Edward Elgar.

The hall was completed in 1920 at a cost of £1,300, built as a practical war memorial which benefited the Parishes of Leigh and Bransford through the provision of a community resource.

The two boards in the small hall list those who served in both world wars as well as those who fell. The horrendous toll of the soldiers who fought in the 1914-1918 war is reflected in the list of the 30 young men who died; casualties in the Second World War were fewer, only five, but still as harrowing for those families affected.

 

 

 

The year 2020 was the centenary of the opening of the Memorial Hall and the trustees were hoping to have a series of events that celebrated that milestone. Unfortunately the Covid pandemic meant that these were cancelled.

One of the parish councillors suggested that a statue of a standing soldier, as has been erected in Suckley Parish at the memorial at Longley Green, would be an appropriate addition to the Hall.

This was thought to be an excellent suggestion by both the hall committee and the parish council and was jointly funded by both.

The statue is 1.8m tall and made of 5mm steel and is placed adjacent to the emergency doors in the new extension. A dedication ceremony is to be held this Sunday afternoon (March 20), with the Hall open for displays of memorabilia from both world wars brought by parishioners with tea and cakes available.

Rev Anne Potter will perform the dedication ceremony. The hall trustees are trying to contact as many relatives of those who are named on the memorial boards and will be publicising the event through notification including the Sphere parish magazine and social media.