Countesthorpe Cottage Homes – War Memorial

The amount of persistence to have this memorial returned to Countesthorpe from it being in store at the City Museum lock up in Freemen’s Common was quite extraordinary.

Everyone in the Museum Service was very sympathetic to the idea but the difficulties were manifold. The Museum Service being accredited, has to follow exceedingly tight rules about handing artefacts to outside its keeping – rules which realistically only really apply to priceless, light and heat sensitive high value items not robust memorials.

This was further compounded by a past history of “ownership” by The Royal Leicestershire Regiment who had loaned it to the Museum Service and various transfer procedures required make the move to Countesthorpe Parish Council.

All this took an amazing amount of unscrambling and an appeal for practical rules to apply. Anyway, persistence paid off and it was duly erected on the Chapel wall in Countesthorpe Cemetery.

A rededication service was going to be held in April of 2020 but that of course has had to be postponed.

The glass panels are presumed to have originally displayed the Victoria Cross of Pte. William Buckingham and the Distinguished Conduct Medal of Coy. Sgt Major Frank Millington, two of The Leicester Regiments’ WW1 heroes.

As you can see it was worth the effort.