What is the Project?
The Worcestershire Schools Memorial Project aims to document all surviving memorials to Worcestershire scholars who were killed in the First and Second World Wars.
Click to enlarge
The Oak WCC Memorial at Malvern Wells C.E.Primary School
After the First World War, names of those former scholars who had been killed were submitted to Worcestershire County Council who commissioned oak war memorials for display in schools. Other schools, often grammar schools commissioned their own. Many of these memorials were transferred to parish churches when schools were closed, but today a preliminary survey of Malvern primary schools has found that six out of eight schools open in 1921 still had their war memorials.(1)
Who is carrying out this research?
The project is being carried out by Paul Roberts, of Malvern, Worcestershire, who has previously built a website commemorating the 450 men of Malvern who were killed in the First World War (link). He is hoping to extend this coverage for the rest of the county, having researched nearly 4000 men from the county, and would like to link in the memorials of Worcestershire's schools.
How can you help?

If you know of a school memorial, or are looking at this page in response to receiving please email Paul and provide the following information.

  • Name of school
  • Location of memorial
  • Contact name and details
  • Brief description (i.e. whether a WCC oak memorial or other)
  • The names on the memorial (optional)
  • Digital photograph (optional)
What will your school get in return?
Paul Roberts intends to research the men who appear on the county's school war memorials and will feed back to each participating school, as well as publishing the information on the Internet.
Some examples of schools that have already been researched:
Cowleigh C.E. Primary | Malvern Link C.E. Primary | Malvern Wells C.E. Primary |
Somers Park C.E. Primary | Wyche C.E. Primary
Case Study
Thomas Reginald Jones was commemorated at Cowleigh C.E.School, Malvern and joined the Worcestershire Regiment; he trained as a machine gunner and took part in the Battle of Cambrai in December 1917. At the age of 19 he was wounded and then killed by shellfire whilst waiting to be evacuated. To read more about him click here.
Medallion awarded to Wilfred Sallis of Powick for one year's unbroken attendance 1905-1906
Notes
(1) This figure includes the war memorial of Cowleigh C.E. Primary School, destroyed by fire in 1989, and North Malvern C.E. Primary School which at the time of closure in 1992 did not have a memorial.