War Memorial - The Fall
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
On the north wall you will see a war memorial. In 1919 a shrine to those who died in the Great War of 1914-1918 was placed in the church on the north wall. It consists of a wooden board with a crucifix under a canopy. Under the dedications, in gold lettering, the names of the casualties, arranged by the year of death, are printed in black. The crucifix came from Oberammergau in Germany. Boards on either side bear the names of those who died in the 1939-45 war, arranged alphabetically. In a niche above stands a statue of St George which was carved in Florence and presented by Captain and Mrs Richardson to commemorate the men of Purton who died for their country. It was dedicated in 1926. The flags in the closed doorway are old colours from the Royal British Legion and the Scouts.
Anecdote
The Golden Chapter records all those from Purton who lost their lives in the Great War. The book is bound in green Morocco leather, tooled in gold. The pages are lambskin and the book is illuminated in gold, black, red, green and blue. It was designed by Mr Graily Hewitt and the frontispiece was exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Victoria and Albert Museum. After its dedication on 1st April 1920, it was kept for many years in the Church in a purpose-built display cabinet. In 2014 it was decided that the book is a significant part of Purton’s heritage and should be preserved and protected. It has been restored by the Conservation Department at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham. The restored Golden Chapter is now stored securely in the Purton Museum and two new copies, with some additional information, have been made, one on display in Purton Museum and one held by the Church.
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