On the walls of Lamb House, Rye, were a couple of paintings of interest.

The first was of the house itself, showing how it looked before the Music Room was destroyed in World War 2:-

The second was a street view from one of the windows painted by Beatrix Potter:-

I took this photo of the same view. Note the twisted chimney on the building which partly obscures St Mary’s Church:-

This is from street level:-

Closer view:-

Reverse view:-

The commemoration of the dead of New Romney in the two World Wars I subsequently discovered is on brass plaques within St Nicholas’s Church (see previous post.)

However what may be a recently laid memorial garden, probably for the 100<sup<th anniversary of the Great War, lies opposite the church.

This contains a stone slab with an attached metal panel inscribed with the familiar fourth verse of the poem “For the Fallen.”

Another stone is dedicated to the Burma Star Association Romney Marsh Branch and is inscribed with the Kohima Epitaph, ‘When you go home, tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today.’

There is also a “Ghost Soldier” seen here before a bed of poppies and remembrance crosses:-

Another memorial bears a plaque saying, “Candle of Remembrance.” Click to enlarge and see inscription:-

Rye’s War Memorial stands in the south-east corner of St Mary’s Churchyard. It was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield in the form which was adopted as the Cross of Sacrifice. The cross surmounts a three-stage octagonal plinth, standing on a two-stage octagonal base.

There are in total 142 Great War Names, plus 42 for World War 2 and one each for the Gulf War and Iraq.

Inscribed on the first step of plinth below the names is, “In memory of the officers and men from Rye who gave their lives in the Great War MCMXIV – MCMXIX.” On the next step below, “Their name liveth forevermore,” and below again, “Also to those who fell in the 1939-1945 war.”

The most prominent architectural feature in Rye is St Mary’s Church.

The Church is rather hemmed in though – there’s not much room on the hill where it’s situated. This is a stitch of photos to show the whole church from the east:-

Clock Tower:-

Clock tower from High Street:-

Graveyard and Church:-

Church and War Memorial – note the upturned sword on the memorial turning it into a Cross of Sacrifice:-

Inside the church a memorial quilt was on display. The topography of the church made this difficult to photograph:-

Also a memorial erected by their parents to the choristers of the church who fell in the Great War:-

Hawkhurst is a village straddling the A 229 in Kent, England. We passed through on our way down even further south after leaving Ironbridge.

Its War Memorial is a stepped set of stone pillars, square in cross section, surmounted by a cross. It was hard to photograph without items of street furniture intruding into the picture.

The inscription reads, “Hawkhurst War Memorial 1914-1918. Erected in sacred memory of our fallen heroes who gave their lives for their country. To the glory of god in the highest and on Earth peace and goodwill to all men. Geo Rex 1921.” Below, “1939-1945,” and what I assume are names from World War 2.

South aspect. Great War names plus one death in Afghanistan in 2007. Middle layer of names is most likely for World War 2:-

Western aspect. Great War names:-

Northern Aspect. Great War Names. Bottom layer may be for Second World War:-

I have posted several times previously about Overleigh Cemetery Chester. I photographed several World War 2 graves there.

Warrant Officer K Buckingham, Pilot, RAF, 7/9/1944, aged 23:-

Aircraftman 2nd Class W Ledsham, RAF, 23/2/1940:-

Corporal A Henshall, Royal Engineers, 5/12/1944, aged 28:-

Leading Seaman J D H Gibson, Royal Navy, 25/5/1945, aged 30:-

Guardsman T E Mallard, Grenadier Guards, 9/7/1944:-

Aircraftman W J Wilding, RAF, 14/2/1942:-

In amongst the Commonwealth War Graves in Overleigh Cemetery (see previous post) were those of three men from the former Czechoslovakia.

Karel Müller, VOJ, Czech Army, ?/?/1917-21/9/1940:-

Antonin Umlaut, Des Czech Army, 11/6/1910-26/8/1940 and Rudolf Mikurchik, Des Czech Army, ?/?/1907-18/8/1940, with in the background, Lance Corporal W B Brown, The South Lancashire Regiment, 6/6/1940, aged 29, and Private G Atherton, The South Lancashire Regiment, 6/7/1940, aged 45:-

The main (more modern) Overleigh Cemetery in Chester, though its Wiki page says it’s on Grosvenor Road, lies just across Overleigh Road from Overleigh ‘Old’ Cemetery.

Overleigh Cemetery (without the ‘Old’) contains 197 Commonwealth War Graves. The most striking feature (in a War Memorial sense) is the Cross of Sacrifice. It is inscribed, “This Cross Of Sacrifice is one in design and intention with those which have been set up in France and Belgium and other places throughout the world where our dead of the Great War are laid to rest: their name liveth for evermore.”

It is unusual for any municipal cemetery in the United Kingdom to have a Cross of Sacrifice. Most, of course, have fewer than the minimum number of graves (30) to qualify for one. In this regard Overleigh’s 197 must surely be an outlier.

There are many indivdual war graves in Overleigh but the photographs below are of clusters or scatterings of graves:-

Cheshire Yeomanry Memorial. “In proud memory of the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the Cheshire (Earl of Chester’s) Yeomanry who gave their lives for their country in the Great War 1939 – 1945.”:-

Czechoslovak Memorial, “To the memory of Czechoslovak soldiers and airmen who fought with the Allies and sacrificed their lives during the 1939- 1945 war.”:-

Czechoslovak Memorial Information:-

This is also in the grounds of Chester Cathedral.

It is inscribed, “In grateful remembrance of the officers and men of the 22nd [Cheshire] Regiment who laid down their lives in the service of their country 1939-1945.”