Denton marks end of war with heritage Open Weekend
Denton is marking the
centenary of the end of the First World war with a special commemoration for the 137 village men who signed up to serve their country - and a tribute to the 24 who never returned.
It’s part of the September 15-16 Heritage Open Weekend of exhibits, talks about the Machine Gun Corps and an evening of WW1 theatre, poetry and song, all initiated by villagers Simon and Julie Curtin.
Villagers Daphne Carre and Stuart Hollyer undertook a 1,000 mile journey to place personalised wooden memorial tokens engraved with the words ‘Always Remembered’ at the grave sites of 17 of the 24 lost villagers across Northern France and the Flanders battlefields of Belgium.
Another has been placed in Portsmouth by Virginia and Graham Leverton, commemorating a Denton naval casualty from the Battle of Jutland.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is to finish placing the tokens.
Daphne and Stuart’s video and images will be shown as part of the Heritage Weekend, alongside biographies completed for all 24 men by Garry Wills - to be published in booklet form along with information on what it was like to live in Denton in the war years.
Their journey revealed that the lost men of Denton made their mark in some of the most iconic battles of WW1, including the Somme,.
Stuart said: “It was very thought provoking. When you stand in front of the graves holding that wooden token, it really hits you. We also left a message from Denton in every cemetery. Our first sight of Etaples Cemetery, with its 11,517 casualties, was quite overwhelming.We feel that part of our village of Denton has, thanks to our plaques, joined the lost men.”
For Daphne, the visit to Sanctuary Wood at Ypres, Belgium, to leave a Denton token held personal significance. Her great uncle, commemorated with a monument, was killed in the first German flame thrower attack of 1915.
Daphne said: “It was a privilege to go and leave our Denton tokens. People were fascinated with what we were doing, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission staff were very sympathetic. Those immense cemeteries, so respectfully tended, are unforgettable.”
St Andrew’s Church in Denton also honours Cecil William Doughty of the Lincolnshire Regiment, who was sent home as an invalid, only to die aged 19 in 1915. His relatives still live in the village.
A permanent centenary memorial is also planned, possibly by improving one of the old water pump enclosures at the top of the main street with a stone water trough. Denton Street Market has contributed funds to kick start the memorial.
For the Heritage Open Weekend a commemorative village trail will link the houses associated with Denton’s war dead, and other important buildings.
A special commemorative poppy artwork will be displayed near the existing memorial in St Andrew’s Church and pupils from Denton School will be creating poppy pictures.
Weekend activity centres on St Andrews Church and Denton Village Hall, which played its own wartime role as a mess hut for the Machine Gun Corps at Belton Park training camp.
Representatives from the Machine Gun Corps Old Comrades’ Association will exhibit memorabilia, including uniforms and guns of the period, and give talks on the Corps.
On Saturday evening the Bingham Musical Theatre Company performs excerpts of ‘The Suicide Club’, a one-act play about a real-life soldier.
The Belvoir Wassailers will also perform song. Contact Virginia Leverton on 01476 870582 for £7.50 tickets. All other activities are free.
