Roll of Honour - Cornwall

Ministry of Defence

Lest We Forget

The Royal British Legion

ZENNOR WAR MEMORIAL

World War 1 & 2 & Korea - detailed information
Compiled and copyright © Paula & Dave Kennington 2006

The memorial is located inside the grounds of Zennor parish church. It is an unusual memorial, badly weathered. It is made from granite and takes the form of a squat pillar surmounted by four small figures each standing in a mourning position. The World War 1 dedication is carved onto one side of the pillar with a bronze plaque below carrying the World War 2 dedication. There is also a special gravestone within the churchyard to Vera May Atkins, C.B.E., S.O.E. Operative.

In honoured memory of RH Osborne DCLI and SE Taylor RFA
who fell in service of their country in the Great War 1914-1918

OSBORNE	Richard Henry	[Memorial lists him as Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry] Private 4535, 1st/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Died 15th August 1916. Aged 31. Son of Richard Henry and Catherine Alice Osborne, of Mennot, Lelant, Cornwall. No known grave. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 10 A and 10 D.
TAYLOR	S E	No further information currently available
To the memory of H J Harfoot, W Hugh who gave their lives for their country in the 1939-45 War
HARFOOT	Harold James	Able Seaman D/JX 157218, H.M.S. Gloucester, Royal Navy. Died 22nd May 1941. Aged 19. Son of John and Eda May Harfoot, of Pennycomequick, Plymouth. Commemorated on PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL, Plymouth, Devon. Panel 47, Column 2.
HUGH	W	No further information currently available
Also J E Tracey who died in active service in Korea 1952
TRACEY	J E	Gunner 5437245, 170 Mortar Battery, Royal Regiment of Artillery. Died 8th September 1951. Aged 29. Reported missing then prisoner of war. Do not know whether he died in captivity or afterwards. Buried in UN Memorial Cemetery, Pusan, Korea. Plot 70. Row 11. Grave 7866. Reports found in The Times Newspaper 2nd May 1951 and 13th October 1951.
Buried in the churchyard
ATKINS, C.B.E.	Vera May	Hidden away under the ivy of the north west stone wall of this small cornish coastal church is a memorial to a very private woman who was directly involved with the operations of agents of F Section S.O.E. during WW2. She was born in Romania, Jewish, and came to this country before World War 2. She soon became the personal assistant to Maurice Buckmaster head of F section, S.O.E. based in Baker Street, London. She had a particular interest in all the female agents and their welfare and after the war toured round Germany tracing them and recording the dreadful treatment they endured mostly before being killed. In some cases having those responsible tried and shot for war crimes. She would often accompany the agents to RAF Templesford before leaving for France. She died in 2000 in Hastings having spent her retirement privately in Winchelsea near Rye. A modest memorial for a very modest but extraordinary woman.

Last updated 17 August, 2019

War Memorials Trust