St Mary's Parishioners

• First World War (1914-1918)
  Total names on memorial: 51
  Served and returned: 0
  Died: 51
  Exact count: yes
  Information shown: Initials, surname,rank
  Order of information: Names are listed neither alphabetically by surname nor by rank, nor chronologically by date of death
• Second World War (1939-1945)
  Total names on memorial: 14
  Served and returned: 0
  Died: 14
  Exact count: yes
  Information shown: Initials or forename, surname
  Order of information: Listed alphabetically by surname, in two columns
• Post-1945 war or conflict
  Total names on memorial: 0
  Served and returned: 0
  Died: 0
  Exact count: yes
  Information shown: No names are listed on the memorial
  Order of information: Undefined

• Plaque
  Measurements: height 850MM, width 1490MM
  Materials: Brass
• Plaque
  Measurements: Undefined
  Materials: Brass
• Plaque
  Measurements: Undefined
  Materials: Brass
• Panelling
  Measurements: height 2440MM, width 3160MM
  Materials: Wood - Oak

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Comments: Paid for by voluntary public subscription.

• Carter Postcard Collection
• www.stmarys-bocking.com/history and www.stmarys-bocking.com/great-war-memorial
• www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/249711/
• historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1122530
• Essex Newsman Saturday 13/11/1920 reported: 'On Sunday afternoon the war memorial tablet, containing the names of 47 local men who fell in the Great War, which had been placed in Bocking Parish Church by public subscription, was unveiled in the presence of a crowded congregation by Miss Savill, sister of Capt H. J. Savill, R.N., who was in command of H.M.S. Hampshire when she went down with lord Kitchener on board, and Mrs. Rankin, mother of Corpl. R Rankin, the first Bocking soldier to fall in the retreat from Mons. The tablet, of brass, contains in the centre the figure of an angel, with the names of the men on either side and the inscription, "In grateful memory of those who gave their lives in the service of their King, country, and God, 1914-1918." www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000381/19201113/020/0003
• Chelmsford Chronicle Friday 12/11/1920 reported: 'BOCKING MEMORIAL. Dean on a Gallant Record. On Sunday afternoon the war memorial tablet, containing the names of 47 local men who fell in the Great War, which had been placed in Bocking Parish Church by public inscription, was unveiled in the presence of a crowded congregation by Miss Savill, sister of Capt. H. J. Savill, R.N., who was in command of H.M.S. Hampshire when she went down with Lord Kitchener on board, and Mrs. Rankin, mother of Corpl. R. Rankin, the first Bocking soldier to fall in the retreat from Mons. The tablet, of brass, contains in the centre the figure of an angel, with the names of the men on either side, and on top is the inscription, "In grateful memory of those who gave their lives in the service of their King, country, and God. 1914-1918." While the congregation was assembling a half-muffled peal was rung on the church bells. The tablet is the first part of the war memorial at the church, where also new entrance gates are being erected in commemoration of the war. The service opened with the processional hymn, "Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer," and the organist, Miss Yeldham, then played the "Dead March." Prayers were offered by the Rev. Capt. Hudson, and the clergy and procession marched to the memorial tablet, placed in the wall near the south door, where the "Last Post" was sounded by Corpl. Lee, and the ladies named unveiled the tablet, which the Dean dedicated, and the same bugler sounded the "Reveille." The clergy and choir then returned to the chancel, the service having been very impressive. NO MERE FORMALITY. The Dean of Bocking, in an address, said they had dedicated to God a very beautiful memorial of those who had given their lives in the performance of their several duties to their King, their country, and their God.That service had not been a mere formality, and he thought it would be long remembered by those who had taken part in it, as a very real tribute to the memory of gallant men. It was impossible to commemorate in words the gallant deeds done by every individual, but perhaps he might select just a few, not because they stood out more deserving than the rest, but because they illustrated how ail classes of society, all sorts and conditions of men, went wherever and whenever they were wanted in the service of their country. One, a gallant sailor, Captain Savill -selected on account of his professional ability for a special and most dangerous task - grandly maintained the old traditions of the British Navy, and to the last moment stood in the only place where a captain sailing under the White Ensign could stand, on the deck of his sinking ship, directing and helping to the last to save those for whose safety he was responsible. Another, Major Digby Johnson, lay in an unmarked grave, though a special memorial near the altar at which he so often knelt was a treasured adornment of their sanctuary. He lay in an unmarked grave, but what more honourable one than the trench which he and others defended to the last? Yes, both at sea and on land there were many resting in spots that they could not identify and mark, but God's angels would know where to find them when the great Day of Resurrection came. A third, Lieut. Ollett, left them a mere boy, loved and appreciated by all who knew him, full of zeal and vigour, who went fresh from his Easter communion into his last engagement, and found peace. Another. Corporal Perry, who had gone out to one of their colonies and was doing well there, true to the traditions of his family, put his services without moment's delay at the disposal of his country, and was one of those who proved that the strength and resources of this country are not limited to England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, but that wherever the British flag flew, or the English language was spoken, there were always ready men to maintain, even at the cost of their own lives, the honour and supremacy of the British Crown. THE GREAT RETREAT. Lastly, let him commemorate one born, bred, and educated among them, Corporal Rankin, who was the first of that parish to give his life, and let them specially note the occasion, for in the long history oi the British Army, which was a continuous record of gallant deeds at Agincourt, Waterloo, Inkerman, and many other places, there was no record more important or honourable than the Mons Retreat. True, it was a retreat. Step by step, in perfect order and discipline, the British line retreated. When men were ordered to stand, they stood and fell; when they were ordered to retreat, they retreated. Those were anxious moments. They knew they were in God's hands; they knew not when the falling-back would end; but it did end, and they now recognised that retreat as a great historical fact; that it was the orderly retreat at Mons which saved the whole position. And so, in years to come, generation after generation would point to the first name in the fourth column of their memorial, and teach their children that the name there recorded is that of a Bocking man who was in the great Retreat at Mons. After the address the hymn, "On the Resurrection morning," was sung, followed by the National Anthem, and the Dean gave the Blessing. Kipling's recessional, "Lest we forget," was sung as the choir left the church. The Bocking Church Lads' Brigade, under S.M. Cook, and the Bocking Girl Guides, under Capt. (Miss) Morris, attended the service. After the service an open peal was rung on the church bells, conducted by Mr. C. H. Howard, Master of the Essex Association of Change Ringers. A collection at the close for the Bocking war memorial amounted to £4 12s'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000516/19201112/017/0003