The Fallen’ of Prior Park College in Wartime Conflicts
‘The Fallen’ of Prior Park College in Wartime Conflicts Introduction In the heart of Prior Park College is the Chapel, Our Lady of the Snows. Therein hangs the plaque to commemorate those who lost their lives during the Second World War. The designer and carver of the Memorial, Mr Hugh R Burt, spent twenty years of his early life in South Africa, where he was engaged in works of national importance, including the Rhodes Memorial and the carving of the whole of the ornamental decoration in the then new debating chamber of the Union Parliament in Cape Town. Back in England again he was entrusted with high class work for many eminent architects, including Sir Herbert Baker and Sir Edwin Lutyens. One of his most recent works was the carving of the Angel Cresting for the St James' Chapel in Exeter Cathedral, and the designing and carving of the ornamental work on the recently dedicated oak pulpit in the same Cathedral. (Gossip Bowl Dec 1952) Thousands of children, parents, teachers, visitors and alumni have walked past this plaque and maybe never looked up, never seen the faces that belong to these names, myself included until one day. Standing gazing up at the list of names, hearing the echoes of the Remembrance Day cry of “we shall remember them” I felt it was important to make these names real for all the Chapel visitors. Page | 1 All the information has been gathered from old magazines, obituaries, Commonwealth Graves Commission and searches on the internet. These boys were like any class of students, some academic, some sporty, some slipping under the radar completely.
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