Our Church is open from approx 10am 'till dusk to all who wish to visit.
St Michael & All Angels Church
Bodenham
Herefordshire
Living out our Faith
in the
Herefordshire Countryside
Remembering the Fallen
THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD
Each November we remember those that have died in the line of duty. The Bodenham tradition is to walk solemnly to the War Memorial after the Remembrance Service at the Church and gather around the Memorial to pay our respects to the fallen. With bowed heads and closed eyes we think of the great sacrifice these brave men paid for our freedom and give thanks for their lives and their faithfulness to God.
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LEFT: The unveiling of the War Memorial in 1921 by Major General Sir Elliott Wood (brother of Col Wood of Moor Court), and the Lord Bishop of Hereford, Dr Linton Smith. Rev. Worsey (vicar of Bodenham) and the Rev. Hugh Jenner of Venn Wood also attended.
The stone is mottled Hollington stone designed by Messrs Bettington of Hereford erected by Watkins & Son of Leominster. Erected on site of old stone cross.
Attributed to the Anthea Brian Archive
Attributed to the Anthea Brian Archive
In the middle of World War One, the then Vicar of Bodenham, Rev J W Worsey, sent a postcard of Bodenham Church to those serving on the front line.
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The postcard (see above) shows the Church's South Face, framed by mature trees and the old (somewhat precarious looking) wooden bridge crossing the river Lugg.
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This deeply touching and thoughtful message must have been of great encouragement and a comforting reminder to James and his fellow servicemen that everyone at home was praying for their safe return.
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The above postcard was written to Private James Billings serving in the South Wales Borderers, who happily did return home safely though other Billings relatives were sadly not so fortunate. The Lewis family of Bodenham lost three out of their four serving sons - a profound and tragic loss.
Lest we Forget....
"......we refuse to forget the services both of those who fought and of those who died for us. The familiar faces of the men who gave their all, - 'Greater love hath no man than this,' - look out from these pages upon us who knew and loved them. Their earthly bodies may lie in an alien soil, but they themselves at this moment are somewhere - safe in God's keeping. "
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Taken from The Bodenham Book of Remembrance 1914-1918 - Words of Fred W. Worsey (Vicar)
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