St Mary’s Church, Painswick: A Memorial Fit for a Soldier

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Following Germany’s invasion of Belgium in August 1914 there was an exodus of Belgian refugees to England, of whom about 30 came to Painswick. A few weeks later ten wounded Belgian soldiers also arrived and were housed in the Alexandra Home which had, up to that time, been a small hospital for children with hip diseases. By December a number of the refugees had set up a workshop in Kings Mill making high-class furniture to order. The skills of one of those refugees; Monsieur Alphonse Bal, was called upon when a new memorial was proposed for St Mary’s Church. Designed by Charles Gere it was made from locally sourced walnut and included 16 panels with the names of the 43 men who died in the Great War engraved in gold lettering, flanked by the names of all those others who also served - making 235 in total. Location: St Mary’s Church, New Street, Painswick, Gloucestershire GL6 6QB Image: The memorial at St Mary’s Church