The War Memorial
Coates War Memorial is on the North village green, in a small garden, next to the main road, the A605. It is an obelisk of Red Peterhead Granite 20ft and surrounded by metal railings which enclose the garden; access is via a ‘kissing’ gate. The plinth on which it stands is in turn mounted on a two stepped granite base on a concrete step. There are 46 names listed for World War 1 and 7 for World War 2. The memorial was first unveiled 6th May 1920 by Colonel Clayton, and dedicated by the local clergy and dignitaries; the memorial was manufactured by Messrs G. R. Dickens & Son.
There is a lot of detail on this site. See below for 1919 and 1920 news about the memorial. |
The picture above shows the unveiling of the War Memorial in Coates in 1920. I am told that this is taken looking away from Whittlesey and that the building on the right is now a take-away.
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There is a video I made of Coates War Memorial on Youtube
These are some images I took on 3rd April 2014 which was not a bright day. The images
have been reduced in size to go here (click to enlarge) but I have kept the large files.
Captions are visible when the gallery is opened by clicking an image.
have been reduced in size to go here (click to enlarge) but I have kept the large files.
Captions are visible when the gallery is opened by clicking an image.
Meetings and decisions about the war memorial during 1919 were as follows:
(Summarised by me on 15th April 2014)
On Monday 12th May 1919, an evening meeting was held in the Public Hall, Coates, for the purpose of considering the erection of a memorial to the local heroes who had given their lives during the war. The Rector took the chair and the meeting was open to all in the parish who were 18 years of age and over. The report of the meeting, which appeared on 17th May, said that it had been successful and the matter had been thoroughly discussed. It was unanimously decided to erect a monument on the village green (Proposed by Mr. H. Johnson and seconded by Mr. Z. Brown). A committee was appointed to go into details and make the arrangements.
In the first committee meeting the Rector occupied the chair, and read a letter from the Lord of the Manor (Mr. J. Peed) approving the scheme. Officers were elected and so the committee was, in full: The Rector (chairman), Mrs. Milnes, Mrs. J. H. Bedford, Mrs. R. H. Clarke, Miss Jones, Messrs. A. J. Chaplin (vice-chairman), C Fountain (treasurer), Z. Brown, H. Green, H. Johnson, G. H. Fletcher, R. Darwood, J. H. Thompson, J. Searle, G. E. Dale, W. Bates, G. Dolby, H. Kisby, W. Banks, G. W. Bedford, G. A. Beaton, O. N. Fretwell, J. Barrett, and R. N. Clarke (Hon. Sec).
It was decided not to canvass for subscriptions, but to leave it to the spontaneous generosity of the public to hand in their subscriptions to any member of the Committee. It was also decided to publish in the paper, week by week, the names of the subscribers, and also to put lists up on the notice boards of the two places of worship and the Public Hall. Mr. Fountain suggested that the sum of £500 be aimed at, and it was felt that as the people of the area would be willing to give generously, this was a realistic figure. The Secretary was instructed to get designs for a monument, and to show them at the next meeting.
When the committee met again (reported on 31st May 1919) about £31 had been handed in to the Treasurer but as the lists were so incomplete, it was decided not to publish the names in the Press. Many promises of help had been given, and the Committee were confident that it would all work out. Designs were inspected, and other designs (and costs) would be considered next time.
The Peterborough Advertiser of 21st June 1919 reports on a public meeting which was held at Eastrea on the previous Tuesday evening in Mr. R. Darwood’s field. The Chairman appealed for unity in the cause; Mr. A. J. Chaplin (vice-chairman) made an eloquent appeal for whole-hearted support of the cause, and pointed out that the sum aimed at - £500 - was well within the scope of the district. He said that in his 42 years' experience he had never known the people of the district to fail in achieving an object they had set their hearts upon. Mr. W. Banks, of Eastrea, suggested that the name of Eastrea should be added to Coates, and the following title was agreed upon: “Coates, Eastrea, The Turves and District Memorial." Mr R. H. Clarke suggested that two representatives from Eastrea be added to the Committee, and these were Messrs. W. Banks and G. W. Bedford.
At the next Committee meeting on Tuesday 1st July 1919 the sum of £80 was paid in bringing the current total to £213. The Committee were anxious to get the whole sum of £500 as soon as possible. So, by 26th July the sum of £455 having been reached for the War Memorial, the Committee wanted to close the fund by August 12th. Messrs. G. R. Dickens and Son, of Peterborough, the contractors for the erection of the Monument had put the work in hand, it was reported on 2nd August and, by 16th it was known that the cost was to be £450. The memorial planned was to be made of Red Peterhead Granite, be about 20 feet high and have a base 5 feet square, encircled by a rail 15 feet, square. As it turned out, the work on the separate Eastrea and Turves memorials meant that the Coates memorial was unlikely to be erected before the spring.
3rd Jan 1920: The War memorial contractors say that work at the quarry is proceeding satisfactorily and expect to complete the erection work by Easter.
6th March 1920: The work on the Coates and District War memorial has commenced on the Green and the foundations is now complete. It is a substantial base consisting of 27.5 tons of gravel, brick bats and concrete having been laid down. As soon as this is set the work of erecting the actual memorial will begin and, given favourable transport of the same from Aberdeen, the contractors expect it to be unveiled by Easter.
3rd April 1920: The committee have reluctantly abandoned the idea of holding the unveiling ceremony during Easter as dispatch of the parts from quarries in Aberdeen was too late for work to be done. It has arrived at Whittlesey station and work starts on Tuesday next; the unveiling will be in April on a date ot be announced. Wedding - a large congregation attended the wedding of Arthur Smith and Mary Rust.
April 24th 1920: The Deputy-Lieutenant of the county Lieutenant-Colonel M. C. Clayton DSO has consented to unveil the Memorial to the Fallen on Coates Green on Thursday evening 29th April. The proceedings will be: 6pm short service in church where seats will be reserved for relatives of the fallen, the committee and ex-servicemen who are attending in a body. After the service a procession will be formed outside the church and march to the site of the memorial where the unveiling will take place. The Dedicatory Prayer will be said and the hymn, “O God Our Help In Ages Past” will be sung followed by one or two brief speeches. One verse of the National anthem will be sung then will follow the Benediction and “Last Post” after which will follow the laying on of wreaths by [1] Relatives [2] ex-servicemen [3] by representative bodies [4] by the public generally.
May 1st 1920, Report on the unveiling of the War Memorial.
The Coates War Memorial to the fallen from the village was unveiled by the Deputy-Lieutenant of the county Lieutenant-Colonel M. C. Clayton DSO on Thursday evening. The memorial is a handsome one of red Aberdeen granite 20 feet in height and mounted on a base of solid concrete. The total cost was about £450 and it was erected by spontaneous public subscription not one house having been canvassed. The total sum subscribed was about £560 and this covered the cost of the tablets already erected in the Eastrea and Turves Chapels. The proceeding last Thursday evening commenced with a short and impressive service in the church which was well attended. After the service a procession was formed outside the church headed by ex-servicemen and processed to the Green, the site of the memorial, given by the Lord of the manor (M. J. Peel). A large number gathered on the Green and the Deputy-Lieutenant unveiled the monument. The Dedicatory Prayer was said and the hymn “O God Our Help In Ages Past” was sung; the Benediction followed and “Last Post” was sounded. Wreaths were placed on the memorial by relatives, ex-servicemen, representative bodies and the general public. The committee responsible for the arrangements was: Chairman, The Rector; Vice-Chairman G. A. Beaton (vacated when Mr Chaplin left the village); Treasurer, C. Fountain; Hon. Sec. R. H. Clarke; Mesdames Milnes, Bedford, Clarke, Miss Jones, Messrs. H. E. Green, W. Bates, H. Johnson, J. W. Thompson, G. Dolby, H. Kisby, J. Searle, L. Brown, G. E. Dale, O. N. Fretwell, J. W. Barrett, G. W. Bedford, R. Darwood, W. Banks, G. H. Fletcher. The contractors were G. R. Dickens & Son of Peterborough.
1920 May 8th
War memorial – The committee of the above met in the Annexe on Monday evening. (Chairman The Rector, Vice-Chairman G. A. Beaton, Treasurer C. Fountain, J. Searle, G. Dolby, H. Kisby, G. H. Fletcher, R. Darwood, G. W. Bedford, W. Banks, Z. Brown. W. Bates, H. E. Green, J. W. Thompson H. Johnson, Hon. Sec. R. H. Clarke.) The secretary produced the accounts as follows:
Subscriptions: £577 17s 5d. Expenses: Monument £451 19s 10d; carriage (half) £4 10s, Tablets £84 10s, Carting £7 10s, Agreements £1 1s, Printing £1 13s 10d, Hire of Hall £3 13s, labour 10s, postage etc. £1 5s 3d, Total £566 12s 11d, Balance £21 4s 3d. The committee decided to present a photo of the memorial to the nearest relative of each of the fallen heroes, to have 35 balance sheets printed and published and to hand over what balance then remained to St. Dunstan’s Hospital for Blinded Soldiers. Votes of thanks to the various officers were passed and replies given. The committee decided to leave the care of the monument in the hands of the two churchwardens and two trustees of the chapel. The key has been handed over to J. W. Thompson the rectors Warden.
3rd July 1920: The Memorial Fund has been closed and a cheque for £15 17s has been sent to St. Dunstan's.
(Summarised by me on 15th April 2014)
On Monday 12th May 1919, an evening meeting was held in the Public Hall, Coates, for the purpose of considering the erection of a memorial to the local heroes who had given their lives during the war. The Rector took the chair and the meeting was open to all in the parish who were 18 years of age and over. The report of the meeting, which appeared on 17th May, said that it had been successful and the matter had been thoroughly discussed. It was unanimously decided to erect a monument on the village green (Proposed by Mr. H. Johnson and seconded by Mr. Z. Brown). A committee was appointed to go into details and make the arrangements.
In the first committee meeting the Rector occupied the chair, and read a letter from the Lord of the Manor (Mr. J. Peed) approving the scheme. Officers were elected and so the committee was, in full: The Rector (chairman), Mrs. Milnes, Mrs. J. H. Bedford, Mrs. R. H. Clarke, Miss Jones, Messrs. A. J. Chaplin (vice-chairman), C Fountain (treasurer), Z. Brown, H. Green, H. Johnson, G. H. Fletcher, R. Darwood, J. H. Thompson, J. Searle, G. E. Dale, W. Bates, G. Dolby, H. Kisby, W. Banks, G. W. Bedford, G. A. Beaton, O. N. Fretwell, J. Barrett, and R. N. Clarke (Hon. Sec).
It was decided not to canvass for subscriptions, but to leave it to the spontaneous generosity of the public to hand in their subscriptions to any member of the Committee. It was also decided to publish in the paper, week by week, the names of the subscribers, and also to put lists up on the notice boards of the two places of worship and the Public Hall. Mr. Fountain suggested that the sum of £500 be aimed at, and it was felt that as the people of the area would be willing to give generously, this was a realistic figure. The Secretary was instructed to get designs for a monument, and to show them at the next meeting.
When the committee met again (reported on 31st May 1919) about £31 had been handed in to the Treasurer but as the lists were so incomplete, it was decided not to publish the names in the Press. Many promises of help had been given, and the Committee were confident that it would all work out. Designs were inspected, and other designs (and costs) would be considered next time.
The Peterborough Advertiser of 21st June 1919 reports on a public meeting which was held at Eastrea on the previous Tuesday evening in Mr. R. Darwood’s field. The Chairman appealed for unity in the cause; Mr. A. J. Chaplin (vice-chairman) made an eloquent appeal for whole-hearted support of the cause, and pointed out that the sum aimed at - £500 - was well within the scope of the district. He said that in his 42 years' experience he had never known the people of the district to fail in achieving an object they had set their hearts upon. Mr. W. Banks, of Eastrea, suggested that the name of Eastrea should be added to Coates, and the following title was agreed upon: “Coates, Eastrea, The Turves and District Memorial." Mr R. H. Clarke suggested that two representatives from Eastrea be added to the Committee, and these were Messrs. W. Banks and G. W. Bedford.
At the next Committee meeting on Tuesday 1st July 1919 the sum of £80 was paid in bringing the current total to £213. The Committee were anxious to get the whole sum of £500 as soon as possible. So, by 26th July the sum of £455 having been reached for the War Memorial, the Committee wanted to close the fund by August 12th. Messrs. G. R. Dickens and Son, of Peterborough, the contractors for the erection of the Monument had put the work in hand, it was reported on 2nd August and, by 16th it was known that the cost was to be £450. The memorial planned was to be made of Red Peterhead Granite, be about 20 feet high and have a base 5 feet square, encircled by a rail 15 feet, square. As it turned out, the work on the separate Eastrea and Turves memorials meant that the Coates memorial was unlikely to be erected before the spring.
3rd Jan 1920: The War memorial contractors say that work at the quarry is proceeding satisfactorily and expect to complete the erection work by Easter.
6th March 1920: The work on the Coates and District War memorial has commenced on the Green and the foundations is now complete. It is a substantial base consisting of 27.5 tons of gravel, brick bats and concrete having been laid down. As soon as this is set the work of erecting the actual memorial will begin and, given favourable transport of the same from Aberdeen, the contractors expect it to be unveiled by Easter.
3rd April 1920: The committee have reluctantly abandoned the idea of holding the unveiling ceremony during Easter as dispatch of the parts from quarries in Aberdeen was too late for work to be done. It has arrived at Whittlesey station and work starts on Tuesday next; the unveiling will be in April on a date ot be announced. Wedding - a large congregation attended the wedding of Arthur Smith and Mary Rust.
April 24th 1920: The Deputy-Lieutenant of the county Lieutenant-Colonel M. C. Clayton DSO has consented to unveil the Memorial to the Fallen on Coates Green on Thursday evening 29th April. The proceedings will be: 6pm short service in church where seats will be reserved for relatives of the fallen, the committee and ex-servicemen who are attending in a body. After the service a procession will be formed outside the church and march to the site of the memorial where the unveiling will take place. The Dedicatory Prayer will be said and the hymn, “O God Our Help In Ages Past” will be sung followed by one or two brief speeches. One verse of the National anthem will be sung then will follow the Benediction and “Last Post” after which will follow the laying on of wreaths by [1] Relatives [2] ex-servicemen [3] by representative bodies [4] by the public generally.
May 1st 1920, Report on the unveiling of the War Memorial.
The Coates War Memorial to the fallen from the village was unveiled by the Deputy-Lieutenant of the county Lieutenant-Colonel M. C. Clayton DSO on Thursday evening. The memorial is a handsome one of red Aberdeen granite 20 feet in height and mounted on a base of solid concrete. The total cost was about £450 and it was erected by spontaneous public subscription not one house having been canvassed. The total sum subscribed was about £560 and this covered the cost of the tablets already erected in the Eastrea and Turves Chapels. The proceeding last Thursday evening commenced with a short and impressive service in the church which was well attended. After the service a procession was formed outside the church headed by ex-servicemen and processed to the Green, the site of the memorial, given by the Lord of the manor (M. J. Peel). A large number gathered on the Green and the Deputy-Lieutenant unveiled the monument. The Dedicatory Prayer was said and the hymn “O God Our Help In Ages Past” was sung; the Benediction followed and “Last Post” was sounded. Wreaths were placed on the memorial by relatives, ex-servicemen, representative bodies and the general public. The committee responsible for the arrangements was: Chairman, The Rector; Vice-Chairman G. A. Beaton (vacated when Mr Chaplin left the village); Treasurer, C. Fountain; Hon. Sec. R. H. Clarke; Mesdames Milnes, Bedford, Clarke, Miss Jones, Messrs. H. E. Green, W. Bates, H. Johnson, J. W. Thompson, G. Dolby, H. Kisby, J. Searle, L. Brown, G. E. Dale, O. N. Fretwell, J. W. Barrett, G. W. Bedford, R. Darwood, W. Banks, G. H. Fletcher. The contractors were G. R. Dickens & Son of Peterborough.
1920 May 8th
War memorial – The committee of the above met in the Annexe on Monday evening. (Chairman The Rector, Vice-Chairman G. A. Beaton, Treasurer C. Fountain, J. Searle, G. Dolby, H. Kisby, G. H. Fletcher, R. Darwood, G. W. Bedford, W. Banks, Z. Brown. W. Bates, H. E. Green, J. W. Thompson H. Johnson, Hon. Sec. R. H. Clarke.) The secretary produced the accounts as follows:
Subscriptions: £577 17s 5d. Expenses: Monument £451 19s 10d; carriage (half) £4 10s, Tablets £84 10s, Carting £7 10s, Agreements £1 1s, Printing £1 13s 10d, Hire of Hall £3 13s, labour 10s, postage etc. £1 5s 3d, Total £566 12s 11d, Balance £21 4s 3d. The committee decided to present a photo of the memorial to the nearest relative of each of the fallen heroes, to have 35 balance sheets printed and published and to hand over what balance then remained to St. Dunstan’s Hospital for Blinded Soldiers. Votes of thanks to the various officers were passed and replies given. The committee decided to leave the care of the monument in the hands of the two churchwardens and two trustees of the chapel. The key has been handed over to J. W. Thompson the rectors Warden.
3rd July 1920: The Memorial Fund has been closed and a cheque for £15 17s has been sent to St. Dunstan's.