Centenary of the start of the First World War marked with wreath laying at Marlborough’s war memorial

Marlborough’s war memorial bears the names of 101 sons of the town who were killed during the First World War. On the centenary of Britain’s declaration of war a short and moving wreath laying ceremony was held at the memorial.

Wreaths were laid for the town by the Mayor, Councillor Marian Hannaford-Dobson, for the Royal British Legion by Colonel Harry Beckhough (veteran of the Second World War – artillery officer and codebreaker), and on behalf of the 4MI Battalion which has special links with the town.

An opening prayer was read by Christchurch’s Rev Heather Cooper and the two minutes silence was opened and closed by trumpeter Mark Harvey of KV Brass – a Marlborough area brass band – sounding the Last Post and Reveille.

The Mayor’s party included a large number of councillors, the Town Beadle and the two Mace Bearers.

Twenty-one soldiers of 4MI marched to the memorial and the battalion’s CO, Lt Col Brown, and RSM, WO1 Gardiner, led the parade. Other members of the battalion acted as stewards.

The standard of the Marlborough branch of the Royal British Legion was carried by Chris Hull. The ceremony was organised by Councillor Alec Light who is Chairman of Marlborough’s Royal British Legion.

As well as Col Beckhough, the ceremony was attended by another Second World War veteran Lt Col Ian Neilson – originally of the 51st Highland Division, but from 1940 an army flyer.

Marlborough’s Army Cadets were represented by Hugo Taylor (standard bearer) and Katie Fern and Daniel Anderson (escorts.) The 2nd Marlborough Scouts’ standard was carried by Charlie Lock, with Jennifer Barrett (Cubs) and Emily Barrett (Beavers) as escorts.

In a break with tradition, a party from the English Civil War Society’s Duke of Beaufort’s Regiment were there in full seventeenth century military costume. The ‘Colonel’ of the regiment, Ian MacDonald Watson, laid a wreath for the two members of the Devonshire Regiment honoured on the memorial – the Devonshires were originally formed from the Duke of Beaufort’s Regiment.

Afterwards, in the Town Hall, the Mayor reminded everyone that people are being urged to switch off all their lights between 10.00pm and 11.00pm tonight (Monday, August 4) and have just one candle alight.

This hour of remembrance leads up to the moment one hundred years ago that Great Britain entered the war and marks our respect for all those killed during the four year conflict that engulfed so many of the world’s nations.