Whitfield Parish Council were proud to erect the War Memorial in 2014, to mark the Centenary of the Outbreak of the Great War and to commemorate the Men of Whitfield who gave their lives in war.
The Memorial stands outside the Village Hall.
The Order of Service for the Dedication of the Memorial, held on 9th November 2014 can be viewed here: Order-of-Service
The Parish Council is grateful to JM Steeples who carried out the primary research on the men commemorated on the War Memorial Plaques in Whitfield and who wrote:
“Whitfield – Casualties of War 1914 -1918 & 1939 – 1945”
Information on each of those Men of Whitfield who selflessly gave their lives is contained on the links below:
First World War
These files may not be suitable for users of assistive technology and are in the following formats: .pdf. Request an accessible format.
Second World War
These files may not be suitable for users of assistive technology and are in the following formats: .pdf. Request an accessible format.
Michelle Cooper (Parish Clerk 2006 to 2015) visited the War Cemeteries and Memorials of most of the Men of Whitfield and placed a Poppy Cross from the Parish by their Memorials.
The Act of Remembrance consists of the following:
The Exhortation is recited:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
The Last Post is sounded.
The Two Minute Silence is observed.
Reveille is sounded.
The Kohima Epitaph is recited:
When you go home, tell them of us and say,
For your tomorrow, we gave our today.
Time Capsule
A time capsule has been buried underneath the foundations laid for Whitfield’s new War Memorial. The time capsule was placed in position by Parish Council Vice-Chairman Keith Barraclough at 8.30am on September 23rd before Whitfield-based firm A&D Contractors Ltd, who laid the foundations free of charge, poured in the concrete.
The time capsule’s location and its contents have been registered with the International Time Capsule Society based at Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, USA.
Laying the Time Capsule.
(L to R: Cllr Keith Gowland, Cllr Tony Lamont, Cllr Mrs Wendy Bowman,
Cllr Keith Barraclough, representatives from A&D Contractors Ltd)
The Time Capsule Contents are:
- Map – Ordinance Survey 138 – Dover, Folkestone & Hythe
- Collins English Dictionary
- Whitfield Parish Council Newsletter – September 2014, showing the events and activities in the village
- Loom bands – a current craze amongst young people making friendship bracelets from small rubber bands.
- A Tax Disc – Each motor vehicle had to have a disc displayed on the windscreen to prove that the Road Fund Licence had been paid. The disc will not be issued after the end of September
- 2014 as records are now held electronically and the Police use Automatic Number Plate Readers (ANPR) to check whether motorists’ vehicles are taxed and have insurance.
- A model car. – Matchbox have made small diecast metal model cars for 60 years. These popular toys are very collectable, especially if kept in the original packaging.
- A mobile telephone
- Disc containing the Minutes of Whitfield Parish Council since its formation in 1894.
- Details of the Whitfield War Memorial and the history of the people named thereon who died in the First and Second World Wars.
- Dover Express 5th September 2014 – a local newspaper
- A pencil – a graphite filled wooden cylinder used for writing
- A collection of photographs of the village, past and present
- A leaflet about pioneering aviatrix Harriet Quimby who flew from Whitfield Aerodrome in 1912, to become the first woman to fly across the channel to France.
- A disc containing The Whitfield Masterplan and Whitfield Parish Council’s response to it.
- A set of coins of the realm.
The erection of the War Memorial was a significant project and the Whitfield Parish Council acknowledges, with grateful thanks, the help and support of the following:
A&D Contractors Ltd
Cleverley & Spencer Monumental Masons
Dover District Council
Gallagher Aggregates
Revd Sue White
Mr P Bean
Mr A Cooper
Mr D Ditcher
Mr J Essen
Mr J M Steeples
P&O Ferries
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Dover War Memorial Project
The War Graves Photographic Project
The Western Heights Preservation Society
Whitfield & Aspen School
Whitfield WI
Photo: War Memorial Island with Kentish Ragstone Rocks donated by Gallagher