Ramsbury commemorates the centenary of the War Memorial Hall and Cross

In March 1926 Ramsbury Memorial Hall was opened to honour those who died in World War 1 and on Saturday March 14 2026 Ramsbury commemorated the hundred years that have passed with a special exhibition and the rededication of the WW1 Memorial Cross.

The exhibition was opened by Maureen Palmer who, born in 1933, is the oldest Ramsburian in the village. Born and bred in Ramsbury, she and her husband ran Hills Stores, a grocery shop in the village for many years in the 1960s-70s. She was secretary to the trustees of the hall in the 1960’s and has always taken a great part in village life.  Until recently she was trustee of the Ramsbury Charities and she is still a member of the WI.

Over 300 people visited the exhibition which was curated by Helen Lloyd and Diann Barnett. They spent many hours collecting information and sifting through minutes books, playbills and photographs to produce a record of events in the hall in the past 100 years. Many of the records were lost in a skip when the hall closed in1989. A group of residents undertook refurbishment of the building, adjacent buildings were purchased, much of it with grant aid, and eventually in March 1997 the hall as it is today was reopened. The exhibition included details of the plans involved.

Ramsbury WI served free tea and cake donated by members and by Ramsbury Royal British Legion. Members of the current trustees put up bunting and helped with the laying out of the exhibition. 

The adjacent memorial garden and cross were cleaned and tidied by Mary Holdsworth and Sheila Glass and at 3pm a short service of rededication was led by Rev Beth Hutton. The service followed the format of the service held in 1926 when the hall was opened by Mrs Vokins who lost three sons in WW1.

Sheila Glass, Chair of Ramsbury Parish Council and Memorial Hall Trustee, told Marlborough.news, “Under bright blue skies we were joined by a group from Wiltshires in the Great War whose presence in WW1 uniforms added poignancy to the event. They laid a wreath on the memorial. A group from Ramsbury Silver Band played for the hymn, last post and reveille and the National Anthem. Ramsbury bellringers played a peal before the service. The Memorial Hall has been a centre of village activities over the last 100 years and the whole day showed the spirit of co-operation which it still engenders – long may it continue.”