Huntingdon war memorial to be rededicated on centenary

Crowds were at Huntingdon's Thinking Soldier memorial during a Remembrance Sunday service last year

A rededication service is due to be held for a World War One memorial on the centenary of its first unveiling.

The Thinking Soldier in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was designed by the sculptor Lady Kathleen Scott.

The town's Women's Institute (WI) branch funded it after it "got fed up with waiting" for councillors to decide what sort of memorial they wanted.

Huntingdon Town Council said a descendant of Lady Scott would attend the service on Saturday.

Phyllis Brooks (right) and other members of the Women's Institute will be taking part in the rededication

Phyllis Brooks, chair of the Huntingdon and Peterborough WI Federation, said it was "a poignant place".

"We're hoping for big crowds to support the event and just remember everyone," she said.

Lady Scott was a well-known sculptor and later married the Antarctic explorer Capt Robert Falcon Scott.

She became involved because she was a friend of Lady Sandwich, who lived at the local Hinchingbrooke House, now part of the town's school, and was the local WI branch vice-chairman.

The statue was unveiled in the town's Market Square on 11 November 1923

"The town council raised money for a war memorial but couldn't decide what to do," explained town council communications officer Sarah Jane Gaule.

"The WI had also fundraised and they got fed up with waiting for a decision, so they said we're doing this."

It became a joint endeavour, with the town council funding the statue's base and paying to fix it to its plinth.

About 3,000 people attended its unveiling on Armistice Day, 11 November 1923.

It has since been updated to reflect World War Two and other more recent conflicts, said Ms Gaule.

WI members have knitted and crochet poppies to decorate Huntingdon Town Hall

Descendants of Lady Sandwich and members of the local WI are among 100 people invited to the rededication of the Grade II listed memorial at 10:40 GMT.

This will be followed by the silence at 11:00.

Ms Gaule, said: "It acts as a permanent memorial that we shouldn't forget the sacrifice of the Armed Forces and should continue to work hard to preserve the peace that they fought for."

The memorial is the focus of remembrance throughout the year, said town council communication officer Sarah Jane Gaule

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email [e-mail] or WhatsApp [phone]