St Luke's war memorial
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On the wall of St Luke’s Primary School hall in Brighton & Hove is a unique
war memorial. This memorial records 49 names of past pupils and staff who lost
their lives during the First World War.
During the period of 1915-1917, over 200 “old boys” from St Luke’s were serving their
country. These figures indicate that the casualty returns were very
high for a school in what was then the
relatively small town of Brighton.
The memorial
The memorial is made up of a mural and a wooden plaque. In the 1970s the then headmaster wanted to paint over this memorial, as he felt it had no relevance for the pupils. Before he made his decision he asked the pupils to write an essay about the memorial. The headmaster was surprised by the responses, especially one written by a pupil whose grandfather had been killed during the War. He agreed that the memorial should stay. He began the fundraising for its upkeep.
A successful fundraising campaign towards the restoration of this precious war memorial has meant that restoration work commenced in the summer of 2007. The funds accumulated will allow access to the memorial by the general public.
Below are the names of two past pupils whose names are on the wooden plaque beneath the mural. These two names have been chosen at random. However, they highlight not only the devastation their deaths caused to their families but also to a small community.
Through local research, soldiers' stories have uncovered aspects of community life and the role each played during the war. By conducting local research with your class you may be able to build up a wider picture of your local community’s contribution and sacrifice.
Victor William Cornford
Victor W. Cornford was a young soldier
who died of his wounds at home. Private Cornford was a sapper in the 1st Home Counties Royal Engineers. He
died of his wounds on the 23 March 1915, aged 18 years.
Victor was born in Brighton and was the son of William and Elizabeth Cornford, of 41, Windmill street, Brighton, late 4, North place, Brighton. On Saturday 3 March 1915 Victor’s funeral notice was posted in the Brighton Herald.
Henry Etherton
Henry Etherton was a private of the Royal Marine Light Infantry.
He was killed on the 1 November 1914, aged 19 years, while serving on
H.M.S. Good Hope. Henry was the son of Mr. H. and Mrs. Etherton, of 32, Jersey Street, Brighton; he is also commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval
memorial.
There are details below about the ship which Henry Etherton served on.
The Good Hope was the flag ship of Admiral Cradock’s Pacific fleet. It was
engaged at the time in chasing the German East Asia
Squadron in the Pacific Ocean. This led to a very heavy sea battle in which nothing of the ship was ever found. 900 men,
the ship’s entire company including Admiral Cradock were lost.
The family of Henry Etherton had a second son who was killed in 1916. He was George Etherton, a gunner in
the Royal Garrison Artillery.
