Hallaton War Memorial

Hallaton War Memorial is unusual in that it was dedicated by the Suffragan Bishop of Leicester on April 3rd 1918 when the end of the war was no where in sight.

The reason for this very early construction and dedication is that the then Lord of the Manor of Hallaton was Mrs Effie Elizabeth Bewicke, who was a widow and childless and who doted on her nephew Calverley George Bewicke.

Calverley was a regular army officer in the Welsh Regiment and was killed at Pozières on the Somme on 26th July 1916. His aunt wanted to get on and commemorate him and his fellow Hallaton men and as it was “her” village, in June 1916 she asked the Parish Council if they would agree to have a memorial erected on the village green which of course they did. She commissioned a well known architect, Paul Waterhouse to design it and for the base he mirrored the round tiered base of the famous old Buttercross using a multitude of different types of stone. There were a total of 21 names.

Over the years it had lost its glow. So in time for the centenary of its dedication, ARWMP and the Parish Council agreed to have it steam cleaned by a specialist company.

It looks splendid.

The war memorial now has 41 names of men associated with the village from the Great War and four from World War 2.