CH60. Bronze framed tablet
To the Glory of God / and in loving memory of / EVELYN GODFREY WORSLEY / Headmaster of Evelyns / in this Parish / Born 3rd March 1885 / Died 17th September 1916 / of wounds received in / the Battle of the Somme / while serving as 2nd Lieut. In
/ the 3rd Batt. Grenadier Guards / Grant him O Lord Eternal Rest, and / let Light Perpetual shine upon him.
We Will Remember Them
This monument is to the left of the chancel steps as you face the east window, just behind the “golden eagle” lectern.
Evelyn Worsley was born in 1885, the son of Godfrey and Frances Worsley. Godfrey was the Headmaster of Evelyns School, Hillingdon. After attending his father’s school, Evelyn went on to Winchester School and in 1903 went up to Magdalen College, Oxford. He took his degree with Honours in History and returned to Hillingdon to work at his father’s school, succeeding him as Headmaster in 1912.
In 1910, Evelyn married Miss Katherine Rashleigh in 1910 at St Mary’s Church Horton Kirby Kent. In those days, it was the custom to have a full report of the wedding in a women’s magazine called “The Queen”. Katherine’s wedding dress is described as follows: The bride was attired in softest white satin draped with chiffon on either side of the skirt and caught with pearl and crystal ornaments. Some exquisite embroidery in pearl and paste appeared on the bodice and under this was passed an old limerick lace scarf, which formed the sleeves. Her veil of silk-embroidered tulle was arranged over a wreath of white heather and orange blossom. Evelyn and Katherine went on to have 2 daughters but the First World War was looming.
In 1916 Evelyn, by now a second lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards went out to France in August of that year. Just one month later he was fatally wounded at Ginchy during the Battle of the Somme. He is buried in the Corbie Communal Cemetary in France and his tomb is shown in the photo below. The wording at the base of the tomb is not very clear but the Commonwealth War Graves website has a transcript, it reads “Greater Love Hath No Man Than This”.
As I write this I am reminded of the verse from the poem by Lawrence Binyon:
“They grow not old
As we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning,
We will remember them.”
The next time you walk past Evelyn Worsley’s memorial plaque in church, you might like to take a moment to reflect on the sacrifice he made.
Christine Bartlett
