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Faringdon Town Council

Faringdon War Memorial

In 1919, a War Memorial Committee was formed with the intention of erecting a war memorial to honour the dead of the Great War. Some members proposed that the Town Hall (which we now refer to as the Old Town Hall) be pulled down and replaced with a war memorial. There was considerable opposition to the destruction of this historic building and alternatives were proposed such as installing commemorative plaques on the Portwell Pump. After a campaign by those opposed to its destruction, the Town Hall was renovated and the commemorative plaques were placed on the building itself thereby making the whole building a war memorial and so preserving it for posterity.

It was suggested that the Faringdon War Memorial record the names of the fallen from within a three-mile radius of Faringdon, but this was rejected because it would include ‘half the village of Longcot, Buscot Park, Great and Little Coxwell, Shellingford and Hatford.’ It was ‘therefore suggested that the War Memorial be for the civil and ecclesiastical parishes of Faringdon which would include Littleworth, Thrupp and Little Coxwell.’

The War Memorial was unveiled and dedicated at a ceremony on Sunday 6th February 1921 at which Lord Faringdon gave an address. It lists 87 names. All Saints’, United and Baptist Churches each have their own war memorials reflecting those who worshipped there. The All Saints’ Memorial lists 92 names; five are of men not listed on the Faringdon War Memorial, but hailing from neighbouring villages; United Church records nine names, four of which are not listed on the Faringdon War Memorial but are of local men closely linked through family ties to members of the then Methodist Church, while all of the six names on the Baptist Church War Memorial are listed on the Faringdon War Memorial.

Taken together, these war memorials identify 96 men all of whom are listed in the documents below; but there is one extra name: James Henry Wearn, a Southwark man who married Annie Mary Luker of Great Coxwell in 1914 in Faringdon. She returned to Faringdon with her son, James Leonard Wearn, after her husband was killed at the third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) on 31st July 1917. Sadly, James Leonard, a Private in the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry died at Salerno on 27th September 1943 during the allied assault on southern Italy. He was 29. Wearn Road, off Coxwell Road, is named to commemorate both father and son according to the Town Council’s policy of naming all new roads after the fallen from both world wars. The documents below commemorate those 97 men with a brief record and photograph of their memorial. The information has been compiled from the extensive records collected by Mark Stone and from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site. If you can add any further information, please contact Faringdon Town Council.

World War OneDownload
World War Two Download

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Meetings

  • Faringdon Area Traffic Advisory Special A420 Safety Meeting 23rd January 2023 10am

    Faringdon Area Traffic Advisory Special A420 Safety Meeting 23rd January 2023 10am

    January 20, 2023
  • Planning and Highways Committee Meeting  to be held on Monday 23rd January 2023

    Planning and Highways Committee Meeting  to be held on Monday 23rd January 2023

    January 18, 2023
  • Grants Sub Committee Meeting  to be held on Monday 16th January 2023

    Grants Sub Committee Meeting  to be held on Monday 16th January 2023

    January 11, 2023
  • Finance and Audit Committee Meeting  to be held on Monday 16th January 2023

    Finance and Audit Committee Meeting  to be held on Monday 16th January 2023

    January 11, 2023
  • Full Council to be held on Monday 9th January 2023

    Full Council to be held on Monday 9th January 2023

    January 4, 2023

News

  • <strong>Help put a local school top of the leaderboard</strong>

    <strong>Help put a local school top of the leaderboard</strong>

    January 30, 2023
  • Have your say on conservation area updates

    Have your say on conservation area updates

    January 30, 2023
  • Help is at hand for people finding it hard to pay for food and energy bills

    Help is at hand for people finding it hard to pay for food and energy bills

    January 30, 2023
  • Vale Path Volunteers Path Clear Up

    Vale Path Volunteers Path Clear Up

    January 26, 2023
  • CONSULTATION – Faringdon proposed 20mph Speed Limit

    CONSULTATION – Faringdon proposed 20mph Speed Limit

    January 18, 2023

Road Closures and Works

  • Section closure of B4109 for implementation of a 20mph speed limit and traffic signing works: 16-27 January 2023

    Section closure of B4109 for implementation of a 20mph speed limit and traffic signing works: 16-27 January 2023

    December 22, 2022
  • Christmas Lights On Event 2022: road closure plan for Saturday 3 December, 13:00-19:00

    Christmas Lights On Event 2022: road closure plan for Saturday 3 December, 13:00-19:00

    November 30, 2022
  • Temporary road closure: Bampton, A4095 Clanfield Road & Bridge Street

    Temporary road closure: Bampton, A4095 Clanfield Road & Bridge Street

    November 3, 2022
  • Coach Lane, Faringdon: January 2023

    Coach Lane, Faringdon: January 2023

    October 27, 2022
  • Gravel Walk, Faringdon: 28-29 Oct 2022, 24 hour road closure

    Gravel Walk, Faringdon: 28-29 Oct 2022, 24 hour road closure

    October 20, 2022
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