14th October 2011

BEER: Soldiers remembered on war memorial 96 years after death

By Laura Goldsbury Noy

TWO names were added to the war memorial outside St Michael’s Church in Beer on Friday, 96 years after the deaths of the soldiers.

Allan Newton and Arthur Palmer were added to the village’s main war memorial as, with Remembrance Day on it’s way, members of the community felt it was right to commemorate those who hadn’t been remembered before by updating the memorials and holding an exhibition.

Allan Newton was born in Beer in 1891 alongside the rest of his family. However, he moved to Cardiff, one of the busiest ports at the time, as his father was a sea captain. Mr Newton was posted to the Western Front in 1915 and was killed in action later that year in a desperate attempt to stop a German attack on the Frezenberg Ridge near Ypres in Belgium.

Arthur Palmer was a local man and owned land around Beer and Musbury. A member of the Welsh Regiment, Arthur Palmer became an officer and spent a lot of time throughout the First World War as commander for No. 4 Company. Mr Palmer was a fanatical and dedicated fighter but was killed on September 17th, 1915, on Hill 70 as part of the Battle of Loos. Whilst Arthur’s name made it onto the memorial boards inside the church, it had never been transferred to the external memorial.

Alongside the new additions to the church memorial, a special exhibition has been planned commemorating all those from the village who fought in the two World Wars. The exhibition will feature Mr Newton and Mr Palmer, as well as the 37 other men and one woman from the village that died, together with those that served and returned.

The organisers would like to hear from any Second World War veterans and surviving relatives of those who served in either war, and would be grateful for any recollections, photographs, documents or items which could be featured in the exhibition. Photos and documents can be copied so precious originals need not be displayed.

The exhibition will run from November 11th to 13th in the Mariners Hall on Remembrance Day and then in Beer Congregational Church Hall for the weekend. Anyone wishing to contribute to the exhibition should contact either Richard Scott on 01297 24157, or Peter Anderson on 01297 23507.

PICTURE: HONOURED AT LAST - Mason Michael Collins works on the memorial alongside Richard Scott and Peter Anderson