Soldiers who returned to Holbrook after the war but were never honoured for their sacrifice have finally been commemorated.  

Last weekend, a new memorial tablet dedicated to 13 soldiers, 12 from the First World War and one from the Second World War, was laid at All Saints’ Church. 

The work for this project began some seven years ago, when local historian Sam Lanier became interested in the stories of soldiers who had returned home from war but had later died as a result of their injuries, with lungs damaged by gas or perhaps infected shrapnel wounds. 

Sam thought it was unjust that these men had never been honoured for their service. A busy seven years passed, which included setting up a history trail around the village in collaboration with Holbrook Primary School, submitting her history dissertation and publishing a book, and not to mention a global pandemic. 

Now, however, this goal has been achieved.  

The inscription on the tablet bears the names of S. Allen, J.C Davies, F. Goodwin, B. Manning, F. Manning, W. J. Pennell, J. Pruke, A. Quantrill, B. Redding, C. Southgate, W. Southgate and W. Youngs, and B. Walsh, who served in the Second World War. 

The stories of siblings who had perished, such as the Manning and Southgate brothers, hit particularly hard for Ms Lanier. So did the story of Barty Walsh, whose family had been trying to get his service recognised for many years. 

As she learned more about these men’s lives, piece of local history began to come together. For example, Stanford Allen was the son of the owner of former Compasses pub in Ipswich Road, running it as a public house and butchery. 

“Sometimes, these people weren’t put on the memorials because of the cost if it, or it might be because of their religion,” Ms Lanier explained. The Southgate brothers, for example, were Methodists rather than being Church of England goers. 

On Saturday, members of the soldiers’ families gathered for a commemoration ceremony. 

The tablet was dedicated and blessed by the Right Reverend Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. 

He said: “Our war memorials traditionally honour those who gave the greatest sacrifice, losing their lives in conflict. 
 
“However, we should equally remember and be forever grateful to those who came home suffering from war wounds from which they later died. 

“I am delighted that in Holbrook this has been recognised with the dedication of the war memorial tablet and I thank everyone, particularly Sam Lanier, for their hard work and research in bringing this invaluable project to fruition.”