A new Suffolk war memorial tablet has been dedicated to remember those who came home from two world wars – but later died from their wounds.
Sam Lanier, an historian and author from Holbrook, near Ipswich, thought it was unjust that they had not been officially recognised for their sacrifice.
She embarked on a labour of love to find their details – and now the tablet has been added to the memorial which names 12 soldiers from the First World War and one from the Second World War who later succumbed to their injuries.
The Rt Rev Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, dedicated and blessed the war memorial tablet (on 10 December) next to All Saints’ Church.
Afterwards 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.’
Jenny Seggar, Rector of All Saints’ Church and a Rural Dean, said, ‘Many people locally will remember the wonderful book that Sam Lanier wrote and the addition that was made to the War Memorial in 2019. We were going to have it dedicated in 2020 but were stopped by Covid. Sam began the project about seven years ago when she was asked by the school to help them look into the lives of those who had been included. They created the Holbrook trail, which linked the soldiers to the houses they had lived in. The children from the school took their parents around the village to tell their stories.
She gleaned so much material that it turned into her degree dissertation, and also into a book which was published locally. During her research she found a number of soldiers who had died of their wounds, but had not been included on the war memorial, and she felt it was unfair that their sacrifice had not been recognised. Sam took no profit from the book, which raised enough money to have a new tablet added to the existing war memorial. She was also able to buy ‘Wilf’, our iron statue of a WW1 soldier, and pay for the celebrations today.’