Westwell War Memorial facts for kids
The Westwell War Memorial is a special monument built in a small village called Westwell, Oxfordshire. It was put up after World War I to remember two brothers, Harold and Jack Price, who died during the war. This memorial is made of limestone and has a unique brass number "1" on it. This number came from a famous building in Belgium called the Cloth Hall, Ypres, which was damaged in the war.
The memorial stands on a grassy area next to a pond in Westwell, a village near Burford in West Oxfordshire. It became a Grade II listed building in 1955, which means it's an important historical structure protected by law.
Contents
Who Were the Price Brothers?
The memorial honors two brothers:
- Harold Strachan Price (1881–1915)
- Edward John (Jack) Price (1890–1918)
These brothers were the sons of Edward George Price, a lumber merchant from Canada, and Henrietta Keane Price. Their family lived in London and Surrey.
Harold Price's Story
Harold Price was a Second Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers, a British army regiment. He fought in World War I. Harold was killed on May 24, 1915, near Bellewaarde Ridge during the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium. His body was never found. His name is carved on the Menin Gate memorial in Ypres, which remembers soldiers who died in that area with no known grave.
Jack Price's Story
Jack Price served in the Royal Navy on a submarine called HMS E15. On April 17, 1915, his submarine ran aground (got stuck) in an area called the Dardanelles during the Gallipoli campaign. Jack was captured by the Ottoman forces. Sadly, he died on October 16, 1918, from the Spanish flu while he was a prisoner of war in a camp in Turkey. Jack was first buried in Turkey, but his remains were later moved to the Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery in Iraq.
How the Memorial Was Built
The Westwell War Memorial was built by the brothers' sister, Stretta Aimee (Bunney) Holland. She was married to Sir Reginald Holland. Stretta lived nearby at Westwell Manor, which is about 100 meters (330 feet) south of the memorial. She wanted a special way to remember her brothers.
What the Memorial Looks Like
The memorial is a tall, standing stone made of limestone. It has a base with two steps. The main stone looks like the stump of a cross and came from a quarry at Heythrop Park. The base is made of Headington stone from Brasenose Quarry in Headington.
A special brass number "1" is attached to the front of the stone. This number is very unique because it came from the clock of the Cloth Hall, Ypres. Harold Price himself found this number in the ruins of the building after the First Battle of Ypres.
The brass number has three messages carved into it:
- At the top, it says: "TO THE BRAVE / WHO / GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR ENGLAND / IN / THE GREAT WAR".
- In the middle, it says: "ERECTED BY / STRETTA AIMEE HOLLAND / IN MEMORY OF / HER BROTHERS / LT HAROLD S PRICE / ROYAL FUSILIERS / LT EDD JOHN PRICE / RN".
- At the bottom, it explains: "THIS BRASS NUMERAL / FORMED PART OF THE CLOCK / OF THE CLOTH HALL / AT YPRES".
Images for kids
-
Memorial beside the pond, in 2003
-
Brass numeral with inscriptions, in 2007
