Proposed War Memorial for the Village of Ropley

There has been a move within the village to locate a War Memorial within our boundary and a memorial committee has been set up to examine the possibility. The PCC has endorsed the proposal to place it within the church yard next to the flagpole. This has been agreed by the Parish Council. There seems general agreement that the memorial should be of simple design and about 8 feet high and, as such, similar to the Bramdean memorial shown here. In view of the fact that the names of those lost in the two world wars are recorded in St Peter’s it was initially considered that the names need not be duplicated on the memorial though there should be an appropriate inscription engraved on it. This was considered particularly appropriate in view of the fact that the memorial is intended to commemorate all who have given, or will give, their lives in conflict in the past, present and the future. The inscription would record this intention.

However there are some who consider that the names of those lost and recorded in the church should also be recorded on the memorial either engraved on the stone or on a separate brass plaque. This will now be reconsidered by the memorial committee particularly in view of the likely extra cost which, if engraved on the stone, would amount to about £6,000 in addition to the present overall memorial estimate of some £16,000 both sums including VAT. A brass plaque on a wooden base attached to the memorial would cost some £1,200 including VAT. Funding is being investigated from charities but, once the proposed design is clearer, Villagers may like to contribute as well.

Two possible inscriptions on the Memorial are listed below as an example of what could be inscribed to reflect the “Simple” proposal for the Memorial. You may like to suggest others:

1. “Ensure that you who live are worthy of those who have given their lives for our country”
2. “Pass not this stone in sorrow but in pride and may we live as nobly as they died.”