War Memorial

arrington parish council

arrington war memorial

The Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial

"In Proud and Grateful Memory of
The Men of Wimpole and Arrington
Who Gave Their Lives for their
Country in the Great War 1914-1918"

[I started these pages in 1999. After transcribing the memorial Roll of Honour for a new website, I became curious about the twenty-one anonymous names and began to research their backgrounds. This is what I found.]

The Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial was dedicated in the early 1920s to the memory of the men who died during the Great War. The original Memorial was a simple granite cross on a plinth and it bore the eighteen names listed on the right. Expanded details can be found on the following pages:

T C R Agar-Roberts to W Ingrey

D Matthews to A F Reynolds

E C Skinner to W Wayman

H G Whetstone to F G Wisbey

Many of those recorded on the Memorial were volunteers who enlisted into the infantry battalions of the Suffolk Regiment, and who were later killed in action fighting in northern France.

Three young men from Wimpole died on the same day as the Battle of the Somme began on 1 July 1916.

Three brothers from a single Wimpole family died within a twenty-one month period.

After rescuing a wounded comrade under heavy fire, Tommy Agar-Roberts (Member of Parliament and heir to Wimpole Hall) was recommended for the Victoria Cross.

The last three names on the right were added to the Memorial after the Second World War. Expanded details can be found on the following page:

F E Allison to J W Law

William Randall Bullen died in a prisoner-of-war camp on the infamous Burma-Siam Railway and John William Law died by American fire while held prisoner onboard a Japanese 'Hell Ship'.

In 1947 the Memorial was rededicated to those who gave their lives during both World Wars. The paving and low retaining wall around the plinth were added at this time.

Dedication Service 1947.

The full Roll of Honour from the Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial is on the right. Each name is linked to an individual commemoration or history.

The War Memorial is located on the northern corner of the original intersection between Ermine Street (now the A1198) and Cambridge Road (now the A603). The corner was once the significant point on the road midway between the villages of Arrington and Wimpole.

The War Memorial is now maintained and insured as a joint responsibility between Arrington and Wimpole Parish Councils.

Chronological Roll of Honour

Early Memorial Photographs c1920

-© Google Maps

I continue to seek further information and I would be delighted to add related photographs or any additional family or military details against any of the names in the individual commemorations.
Please e-mail me at with details.
Steve Odell
Wimpole 2006

War Memorials Trust

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Royal British Legion

WW1 Resources and Links

Roll of Honour

The following names are recorded on the
Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial:

1914-1918

Captain The Hon
T.C.R.Agar-Robartes
Coldstream Guards

Private
E.G.Clarke
7th Suffolk Regiment

Private
H.Collin
11th Suffolk Regiment

Private
H.Ingrey
7th Suffolk Regiment

Sergeant
W.Ingrey
1st Bedfordshire Regiment

Private
D.Matthews
11th Suffolk Regiment

Private
J.W.Neaves
5th Kings Shropshire Light Infantry

Private
A.H.Pell
2nd Queens Royal West Surrey

Corporal
C.Pratt
2nd Rifle Brigade

Private
A.F.Reynolds
11th Suffolk Regiment

Private
E.C.Skinner
7th Suffolk Regiment

Private
F.Skinner
11th Suffolk Regiment

Private
H.Skinner
7th Suffolk Regiment

Private
F.Smith
1st Bedfordshire Regiment

Lance Corporal
W.Wayman
11th Suffolk Regiment

Acting Corporal
G.Whetstone
2nd Rifle Brigade

Private
H.Wilkins
11th Suffolk Regiment

Private
F.G.Wisbey
2nd Lincolnshire Regiment

1939-1945

Leading Aircraftwoman
F.E.Allison
W.A.A.F

Private
W.R.Bullen
2nd Cambridgeshire Regiment

Private
J.W.Law
2nd Cambridgeshire Regiment