The Great War (1914-1918)

Very little information is to hand on the First World War on its impact on the life of the village of Broadmayne. The Dorset Evening Echo for 19th December 1918 carried a paragraph about a Sergeant Alfred Chase, who held the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the Military Medal and the 1914 Star. It reported that Police Constable William Chase of Broadmayne and Mrs Chase had been notified that the eldest of their five soldier sons, Sergeant Alfred Walter Chase, DCM, MM, of the Scots Guards had again been wounded. Since receiving the notification, they had also received a letter from him, in which he stated that he was “going on nicely”. He was wounded in the left elbow, a machine gun bullet passing clear through it. He was in hospital at Stockport and was greatly disappointed that he was not able to share in the victory and the triumphant march through Maubeuge (in the taking of which, he was wounded). Sergeant Chase, who went out at the beginning of the war with his battalion, had been twice wounded and gassed once.

Nationwide efforts were made to help the war wounded; extracts from the Logbook of Broadmayne School read:-

“June 22nd 1917 The school was visited by a representative of the War Office to interest the children in collecting eggs for wounded soldiers. A Subscription opened on Empire Day in connexion with the ‘Overseas Club’ was closed today. The sum of five shillings has been forwarded to headquarters by Miss Pearce.
June 27th 1917 70 eggs were collected by the children and forwarded to Dorchester Town Hall for distribution among wounded soldiers and sailors.
July 11th 1917 10 selected children received badges authorising them to collect eggs and money on behalf of the National Egg Collection.”

At the end of this terrible war, there was cause for much relief and celebration, although of course the terrible loss of life and war wounds were to remain in the memory to the present day.

The War Memorial originally erected at the centre of the village, commonly called ‘The Cross’ is a granite column bearing the names of eight men of the Parish who fell in the Great War. It now stands in a corner of the churchyard adjoining the main road through the village, having been re-sited from its original position at The Cross when road improvements were carried out in 1987.

Programme of the events in the Village Peace Celebrations
Second World War (1939-1945)
RAF Warmwell
D-day