Over the past 100 years Churcher’s College has commemorated the fallen from both the First and Second World Wars, not only with the annual Remembrance Day Parade, but with physical memorials to commemorate those who gave their lives. As we remember VE Day 80, we take time to look back at the ways in which Churcher’s has remembered the fallen and the history behind the memorials placed in and around the school over the years.

The First World War: 1914-1918

The Memorial Plaque - 120 years ago, the Officer Training Corps (OTC) was formed at Churcher's College. There were 65 boys in the OTC, according to a photograph taken to commemorate Trafalgar Day in 1905. As they stood proudly in their smart new uniforms, sadly only 9 years later nearly all of them would be marching off to fight in France and 13 were to be killed in the First World War. Their Commanding Officer, John Radwell unveiled the College War Memorial in 1920, dressed in his uniform as the Major in the Hampshire Regiment. The plaque is inscribed ‘To the Glorious Memory of the Churcherians who in the European war laid down their lives that England might live’. The 1914 –1918 Churcher’s War Memorial can be found in the Assembly Hall. 

The Silent Soldiers - In 2018, Churcher’s College additionally commissioned an art installation of 54 Silent Soldiers on the roundabout near the Senior School entrance. Each one represented one of the 52 Old Churcherians and 2 gardeners who made the ultimate sacrifice in WW1. 

The Second World War: 1939-1945

The Memorial Field - In 1949 a group of Old Churcherians clubbed together to purchase a patch of land at the back of Churcher’s College, to honour the fallen. The field purchased by the OCs is known as ‘Memorial Field’ and is the playing field where the 1st XV pitch currently sits. At the time it was hoped that a War Memorial would be built adjacent to the field, upon which with the names of those who had died would be inscribed. However, after purchasing the fields, there was only enough money left over for a small commemorative plaque. 

The Memorial Plaque - In July 1949, A.H.G Hoggarth, Headmaster of Churcher’s College from 1927-1946 and who oversaw the running of the school during the Second World War, returned to unveil the school’s War Memorial plaque. Made of oak with gilt lettering and surmounted with the college’s crest, it bears the inscription ‘In honoured memory of the Old Boys of this school who fell in the World War 1939-46'. There follows the names of the scholars with the words ‘We will remember them’. The plaque can now be found in the Assembly Hall.

The Memorial Arch

In 2018, to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, Churcher’s College dedicated a new War Memorial Arch to the fallen. A special assembly led by the Rev’d Will Hughes, Vicar of Petersfield, and VIP guests was followed by the dedication of the newly constructed war memorial, which honours Old Churcherians who have fallen. Each year, the CCF cadets lead the way to the war memorial, and form a tunnel through which pupils and staff proceed from the Sports Hall, through the war memorial which is located at the back of Old College. In purchasing the War Memorial it was felt the work of the OCs in 1949 who clubbed together to buy the Memorial Field and wished for a suitable memorial, was completed. 

As we celebrate the end of World War II on VE Day 80 on Thursday 8 May, it is worth recalling the words of  A.G.H. Hoggarth Headmaster at the unveiling of the plaque in 1949... 'So let us pray that if we can make a better world there may never be any need for another War Memorial here.'

If you would like to read more about the Churcherians who fell in the wars you can purchase a book entitled The Men who Marched Away, written by the former Head of History, John Symonds. Simply follow the link: The Men Who Marched Away