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Tunstall

The Great War memorial in the village of Tunstall, just south of Sittingbourne in Kent, is a wooden triptych above an inscribed panel, situated in the parish church of St. John the Baptist. The memorial measures 112cm by 76cm and has polychromy laid over a gesso base. The panels of the triptych are green, and the two outer panels have a red border. The symbol IHS is painted on the left panel, and the Chi-Rho symbol on the right. The middle panel shows Christ on the cross and the two Marys at the foot of the cross. The text panel below is gold with a solid green border and an inner border of green and gold decoration. It is a most unusual memorial.

In March 2001 War Memorials Trust gave £250 towards work to fix the flaking paint, clean the surface and retouch the paintwork where necessary. The memorial had been affected by humidity, so a new support was constructed to keep the memorial away from the wall in an attempt to overcome this problem.

The texts

Greater love hath no man than this

and 

When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death
Thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers

are painted on the side panels. The inscription on the lower panel reads 

To the glory of God
and
in honour and memory of the men of Tunstall
who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country
1914 – 1918

Lieut George Doubleday RNR DSC
L Cpl James Arter 4th Batt S Staffs Regt.
Pte Frederick Edwards Northants Regt.
Sapr George Gaunt Royal Engineers
Cpl Frank Pollard 19th Canadian I
Pte Walter Slarks 11th Batt R Sussex Regt
Pte George Slarks 5th R Sussex Regt

None of us liveth to himself and none dieth to himself

 The memorial was originally unveiled by Maj Gen H F Thuiller on 13th August 1921.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM184
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 16184

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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