Crediton War Memorials Egan

THE CREDITON WAR MEMORIALS

by Donna Egan

The opening ceremony of the Town and HamletsWar Memorial

16 May 1923

Courtesy of the late Tom Venn

After the Great War, Tom Venn (Crediton's local historian) worked tirelessly to produce a definitive listing for the Great War Dead of the town but even he never succeeded in producing such a thing.

Tom Venn wrote:

"On 24th July 1917 a memorial service was held in the parish church for those of our dead up to that time known - about sixty names were recited.

Of a certainty. many more should have been remembered, a disparity not rectified either on the War Memorial or the Tablets of Remembrance in the south aisle of the church. Most of these "absentees" were soldiers of the old regular army - if at time of enlistment a man lived elsewhere than where he was born, both particulars were included.

Some loath to break a link with what had had been home gave the place of birth as that of domicile also, though neither kith nor kin remained there. Many of these unsponsored warriors were indeed remembered by the older people, yet they let the time go by when they could have proclaimed them"

For many years, Tom Venn hunted down dozens of "missing men" with links to the town and kept a number of detailed lists of those with connections with the town yet Donna's new research has revealed that even now, there are more names to be discovered.

Some months ago, Donna Egan set about the mammoth task of trying to make sense of the various memorials, Tom Venn's detailed notes, contemporary newspaper reports and the stories of the missing men - men who were not officially commemorated in what, while they lived, they thought of as their home town. In the database presented on this website, readers will find just three or four facts about each of the men named on two Memorials - the Town and Hamlets Memorial and the wall tablet in Holy Cross Church, Crediton.

However, behind this listing, lies a much larger database to which Donna Egan would like to add the names of as many missing men as she is able to trace, and from which she can supply any interested readers with more detailed information about their family members. If you would like to know more about a member of your family or want to talk to her about her new information or can add to the database, please email her at this address:

donnaegan84@gmail.com

The War Memorial Organ was designed based on plans drawn by the church's organist Lieutenant Harold Organ FRCO in 1915. Organ was tragically killed in action in 1917 but the plans were continued by Cyril Church. The organ was built by Harrison and Harrison of Durham, and first used in 1921. The organ was restored and put in a new case in 2001. Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ Register

A - C

D - F

G - I

J - L

M - O

P - R

S - V

W - Z

Tablets of Remembrance in Holy Cross Church

The War Memorial Tablets in the

Church of the Holy Cross at Crediton