The Luton News & Bedfordshire Advertiser, Thursday 13th May 1920 (page 10) reported:
'HARLINGTON. War Memorial. Great Pilgrimage to Unveiling. NOBLE MONUMENT TO THE MEN WHO SERVED. Great interest was taken, not only in Harlington, but over a wide area, in the unveiling and dedication of the war memorial and record there on Sunday afternoon. The roads from Sundon, Toddington, Westoning, and other villages saw streams of pilgrims from mid-day onwards wending their way to the shrine, and when one reached the cross-roads at Harlington a crowd of close on a thousand blocked the Square, so that the only means of passage through the village was by way of the fields. The memorial itself is a fine piece of work, and is in the form of a studded Celtic cross in grey Cornish granite, standing on a large base, which is to be surrounded by a chain fence. It bears the following inscription:- "1914—1919. “To the Glory of God and in loving memory of the men of Harlington who made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War. The following are those who served:—A. Abbiss, F. Abbiss, W, Abbiss, J. Ashby, P. Ashby, W. Avery, F. Baker, A. Bonner, H. J. Bonner, J. Bonner, J. Bonner, W. Bonner, H. Brennam, C. Brightman, E. Bushby, F. Bushby, G. Bushby, R. Bushby, W. Chance, C. Cleaver, E. Cleaver, P. Colwell, S. Cook, T. Croxford, W. Croxford, A. Denton, C. Denton. E. Denton, H. Denton, H. Denton, W. Denton, W. Denton, A. Fisher, W. Fountain, G. Fowler, W. Freeman, G. Gilbert, A. Giles, H. Giles, F. Gobby, J. Gobby, S. Gobby, T. Gobby, W. Godfrey, W. Gosling, G. Guess, R. Hall, C. Harris, C. Harris, G. Harris, H. Harris, J. Harris, P. Harris, W. Harris, F. Higgs, F. Hinks, J. Hinks, E. Huckle, J. Hymus, A. Lane, F. Lane, G. Lawman, W. Lawman, W. Linger, A. Maskell, C. Mead, T. Mead, W. Mills, J. Morris, R. Morris, W. Morris, W, Muckleston, A. Odell, H. Payne, W. Payne, W. Purser. H. Reek, A. Richardson, C. Richardson, G. Richardson, D. Richardson, H. Rowley, A. Saunders, H. Smith, L. Stone, J. Starling, C. Thomas, H. Thomas, F. Ward, F. Williamson."
THE COST. The monument has cost £477, the whole of which sum has been raised - indeed, a small balance is in hand. The fund was opened three years ago by a few working men, whose ideal was nothing like the result which accrued, The response was greater than they anticipated, and therefore a number of efforts were made with a view to raising the funds necessary for a really fine memorial, The generous spirit with which the inhabitants of Harlington entered into the project will be seen when it is stated that the amount raised averages something over 15s. per head for each man, woman and child of the population. The unveiling ceremony was performed by Major Gordon Shaw, formerly of Harlington Manor, and there were also present the Vicar (Rev. A. G. Hodgson), the War Memorial Committee, Messrs, J. N. Godfrey (Chairman), N. G. Thomas, A. Odell, G. Cleaver, J. Denton, L. Justice, John Giles, Chas. Ashby, John Lane, Geo. Gazely, F. Saunders, F. Coley and A. Denton. Mrs. Lye, of Harlington Manor, was also .present. The hymns were accompanied by Toddington Brass Band, and troops of Boy Scouts from Ampthill, Toddington and Harlington, with the 1st Toddington troop of Girl Guides, were on duty. The weather was perfect for such a function, and the large crowd assembled in the May-scented sunshine of a spring afternoon under the whispering trees at the cross-roads, made a picture truly representative of the attitude of the people towards those who served the country as her men had served before. The proceedings commenced with the singing of the hymn, “O God, our Help in Ages Past,” and this was followed by the unveiling. After the Union Jack had fallen from the cross, the Vicar dedicated it in the following words: "To Thy glory, Lord God of Hosts, we dedicate this memorial in loving memory of our brethren who laid down their lives for us in the Great War; in honouring also the services rendered by those who are permitted to return; in token also of the mercy toward us in the hour of our distress, and in thanksgiving for the victory; in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.” The Lord’s Prayer was then repeated, after which Major Gordon Shaw addressed the gathering, saying he was pleased and proud to be able to take the part they had asked him to that afternoon. It was 21 years since he left the house opposite, he said, pointing to the Manor. They were there for seven years. When one met anybody they had not seen for 21 years it was rather difficult to know what to say, and they generally: started, "Do you remember --?' He would like to ask Mr. Higgs if he remembered his goat with the curly horns. Major Shaw then recounted an amusing episode in which he figured as a boy concerning that animal. MAJOR SHAW’S SACRIFICE Speaking of the war, he mentioned that an elder brother of his was killed on the Somme in 1916, and he himself had "a bit of bad luck" 19 days from the end of the war, and lost a leg. There were 105 names on the memorial, he proceeded, of which 24 had laid down their lives. The memorial was to keep green in their memories those who fought in France and had died, and also those who had lived. "They who learnt the lesson of being brothers in arms in warfare had now learned to be brothers in peace. He asked them to remember and help those who had returned, and said there was no reason why hereafter every man, woman and child who came to see the memorial to the glorious dead of Harlington should not be able to say that honestly, as far as it behoved them, those brothers had not died in vain. The hymn, "Fight the good fight,” was sung, and the Vicar then read the names inscribed on the base of the cross, and commended to the Divine care the souls of the men who had perished in the fight. The "Last Post" was sounded by the Scout buglers, and then a number of people stepped forward to lay wreaths at the foot of the memorial. An address was given by the Rev. Robinson Lang, of Toddington, who said this would be a memorable occasion on which they honoured the men who, in the Empire’s great need, rose up and marched away to the last full measure of devotion and sacrifice. They did not and could not forget either the living, who, for their sake, faced the terrors of the battlefield, or the dead who had laid down their lives that we might live. This memorial was evidence of their love. They were acknowledging before the present generation, and as far as might be to all succeeding generations for all time, the immense, the unutterable, the immeasurable debt they owed for what those men had done. He was glad they had come to the conclusion, though it had not been by any means common until now, to make no differentiation whatever in the names inscribed on the memorial. After pleading that the men who had returned should be honoured for all they had done, the speaker urged his hearers to make themselves producers of all that was good and honest and trustworthy, and so to perpetuate the memory of the men who had helped to bring about the better time for which the whole world was waiting. After the singing of the hymn, ‘‘Thou to whom the sick and dying,” followed the consecration of life, suffrages from the Litany, and prayers. The assembly then joined in ‘‘Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "For all the Saints.” During the singing a collection was taken, and this amounted to the admirable sum of £27 1s, The service closed with the singing of the National Anthem. UNITED SERVICE IN THE CHURCH. A united service was held in the evening, when the Church was crowded. The Rev. R. Lang read the lessons, and the Vicar preached. The collection realised £4 10s. A draw and bran tub on Saturday evening produced the sum of £60 1s. 4d., and other subscriptions brought up the amount raised during the week-end to £97 12s. 4d'.
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