The Goderich Signal-Star, 1969-10-23, Page 13oberttjj
BY, RQN PRICE
At first glance, it would seem
the little church of St. Peter ad
• Vincula at Wisborough Green in
Sussex, England, has nothing
much to do with Goderich, but a
story has evolved recently
concerning the little church at
Wisborough Green that involves
many ,° many Canadians,
including, perhaps, some from
Goderich.
The church is the only one
which annually holds a memorial
service to commemorate the
dead of Dieppe — the men of the
2nd Division Canadian Army.
• Canadian veterans who settled
in Britain after the second world
war, travel from all over the
country to attend the service,
entering the church to a naval
guard of honour with the naval"
bugler sounding the last post.
The church houses the Dieppe
e' Memorial Doors which pay
tribute to the Canadians who
lost 'their lives in the raid on
Dieppe. on August 19, 1942.
Appropriately the doors are in
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1949
SECOND SECTION
The -little Church at Wisborough Green
The doors were donated by
the members of the 'Wisborough
Green Home Guard.-
the Norman Fort tower of the
church, a fort built to withstand
an invasion 800 uyears ago in the
opposite direction.
Headquarters for the raid was
in the vicinity of Wisborough
Green. The residents of the
Green welcome the veterans
each year who arrive for the
service which has become a
major event for the village. '
But now the age of the little
church at Wisborough Green is
beginning to tell; the church that
has honoured the Canadians who
fell in the raid on Dieppe . is in
need of help. A church
restoration fund has been started
in an attempt to save the roof of
the building that has stood since
Norman times.
Additions and renovations
took place from the llth
century onward until the
present. The church now
consists of seven areas, all
showing a definite time period.
The church has ` two
memorials, the commemorative
doors in the tower and a
charming lancet window in the
south aisle presented to the
church in commemoration of
the Hugenot glass makers who
lived in the village from 1567 to
1615. It is covemd by small
fragments of glass recovered
from various local sites known
to have been used by the
Hugenots.
With such a history and with
so much to be retained, it is a
pity that the church is faced
with the problem of funds.
• The problem was brought to
light here by Norman Pyrah who
spotted a letter to the editor in
the Toronto Telegram from a
man named Bill Lynch, a
Canadian vet. In that letter Mr.
Lynch points out the problem
and asks for donations to be sent
to the vicar.
Mr. Pyrah wrote to the vicar,
the Rev. J. E. Penney, MA, who
replied with a letter and an
information booklet on -the
church. The views on this page
are reprinted from that booklet.
Mr. Pyrah sent the material to us
and we thought you would like
to know about it.
There were many men of ..the
2nd Division who lost their lives
in the raid on Dieppe; there have
been many people of the village
of Wisborough Green who have
helped keep the memory of
those men alive over the years
that have passed since then. Now.
we have the opportunity of
helping the people of
Wisborough Green keep their
church and at the same time
preserve a small piece of British
history.
Donations may be sent to:
The Vicar, Church Restoration
Fund, Wisborough Green,
Sussex, England.
For those who do not want to
go to any trouble as far as letters
go, but would like to donate, I
would be pleased to forward the
donations for you. Just drop
them in at the Signal -Star in an
envelope marked Church
Restoration. Fund. And please
remember: what may seem a
little in Canada, could mean a
lot in England — to the little
church at Wisborough Green.
•
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