Veterans Memorial Cleaning Weekend – Veterans for Veterans

Volunteering with the Friends of St James and as the Charfield British Legion Standard Bearer, Jenny Naylor noticed that many veterans from the war were buried in the old churchyard. Interestingly, aside from one case, their military service wasn’t noted on their headstones.  

Through research, we identified thirteen men who served in WWI, are listed on the memorial, and are buried in St James churchyard. To honour them, Jenny sought help from social media and local resources to connect with their descendants. Collaborating with Steve Davies, a memorial stone mason and fellow veteran, we secured funding from the Veterans Foundation for a weekend event aimed at cleaning and restoring the graves, many of which were quite overgrown and in danger of toppling over. 

On September 28-29, ten Armed Forces veterans joined the Friends volunteers, to learn respectful maintenance techniques for the memorials while protecting the delicate ecosystem of the churchyard. Despite recent rain, we were blessed with good weather. Together, they cleaned headstone and memorial markers, cleared weeds, straightened leaning gravestones, and made the churchyard safer for visitors. 

We also had the pleasure of welcoming some relatives, including the great-great-grandson of Reginald Charles Pagett, who had served in the Royal Navy like his Great-Great Grandfather.  The weekend was filled with camaraderie, stories, and shared experiences among the veterans.