At 11 A.M. on the 11th of November, 1918, the slaughter of the first world war ended. In four years over nine million people had died. A whole generation of mainly young men in their early 20s had been sacrificed; eighteen of them were from Hinderclay. In a village of only 260 inhabitants this was devastating.

In our peaceful churchyard stands a memorial to those brave young men of Hinderclay who gave their lives in the great wars. It was unveiled in their memory in 1920 by Prince Frederick Duleep Singh. The Prince was a member of Hinderclay church choir for several years and lived at Blo' Norton Hall. If you click here you will see a photograph taken just after the memorial was unveiled.

An article in the Bury and Norwich Post at the time read:

'The memorial cross bears the circle around it ... the circle, having no beginning and no end, signifying the eternal life and love won for redeemed humanity on the Cross when God Incarnate offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.'

[To read the full article from the Bury & Norwich Post click here ]

During the Second World War two men lost their lives and their names were added to the base of the memorial.

To mark 100 years since the ending of WWI, and our respect for the men from Hinderclay who gave their lives, the memorial was professionally cleaned in 2018.

On the 11th November 2018 a special service was held in the church to remember the lives lost 100 year's ago and to give thanks for the end of WWI.
Information and photographs taken at the time can be seen by clicking here.