Stone’s lost sons from WW1 remembered

The names of the 148 men from Stone who lost their lives in the First World War were read out at an emotional centenary service in Stonefield Park on Sunday (3rd August).

The service was led by Rev Ian Cardinal from St Michael’s Church. He told the hundreds of people who had gathered:

“We have gathered around this memorial today to remember all those from this community who were caught up in the courageous but tragic events of the First World War. We remember those who were killed in action, or by disease, the bereaved, the lost, the families which were shattered, the wounded, maimed and injured, those who held in silence unspeakable memories of warfare.”

The service saw the Union flag and Standards from Stone’s military organisations laid on top of the drumhead, exactly the kind of service that would have been held on battlefields across Europe between 1914 and 1918.

Stone MP Bill Cash laid a book of remembrance before the names of the 148 men from Stone who lost their lives were read out. The Last Post and Reveille were played beautifully by Oliver Sergeant on a bugle that had actually seen active service in the First World War. It bears the scars, as you can see in the photos below.

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Oliver said: “I felt very honoured to have the chance to play the Last Post and Reveille , especially on a bugle that was in the trenches of the very war we were remembering. Every time I play this bugle, I always have the thought that the sound I’m hearing is the sound our brave soldiers would have heard on the battlefield. I’m so thankful to have been given the opportunity to be involved in the ceremony.”

Here’s a video of the names being read out and The Last Post…

After the service in Stonefield Park, wreaths and personal tributes were laid at the war memorial in Granville Square, and town mayor Cathy Collier unveiled a commemorative plaque dedicated to the men of Stone who died in the First World War. If you have any photographs from this section of the commemorations, please send them to jamie@alittlebitofstone.com