In the North Aisle three memorials record victims of the Great War.

1. Great War Memorial - The inscription reads as follows:-

God is our hope and strength a very present help in trouble. This tablet is erected by past and present worshippers of this Church to record the Divine deliverance in the Great War 1914–1919 and to perpetuate the memory of the following Parishioners of Wivelsfield who died for God King & Country

2. Wooden Cross - fixed to the wall next to the north door is the original 'wooden cross marker' which marked the grave in Flanders of 2/Lt A.R. Griffiths 53 / Bty. RFA. 9.8.1915.

Under this cross and set into the wall, is a stone plaque that reads:-

"The above cross marked the grave of Sec. Lt. Allen Rhys Griffiths RFA who was killed in action nr Hooge Flanders August 9^th 1915 aged 22"

After these wooden cross markers were replaced with the stone headstones in the 1920's some next-of-kin asked if they could be have the graves' original marker. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission consented, and a number of these were returned to the UK - complete with names, Regiments and other details - they were eventually installed in large houses, cloisters and churches. The latter setting was most usual, with the cross fixed to the wall of the church in the town of village in which the man had lived. No connection with the church or village has yet been traced for 2nd Lt. A. R. Griffiths, and the reason for the display in this Church of his cross remains a mystery. His name is not found listed on any of the other Great War memorials in the village but is listed on the Warsash, Hampshire memorial and the Roll of Honour in St Mary's Church, Warsash.

3. Memorial tablet - at the western end of the North Aisle, the inscription reads as follows:-

In loving memory of Lieut. Com. DOUGLAS ROSCOE SAXBY-THOMAS. R.N. H.M.S. Venerable The Second dearly loved son of Mr. and Mrs. G.E. Thomas of the Indian Public Works Dept. Who lost his life when H.M.S. Laurentie was sunk in the Irish Sea 25^th January 1917. “He laid down his life for noble cause and passed unafraid to GOD” This Memorial has been erected by his Mother and Father and his two Brothers Capt. H.G. Saxby-Thomas R.E. and Lieut. N.H. Saxby-Thomas R.F.A.

Above the west doorway is the stained glass 'St. Nicholas' window, the inscription at the base of the right-hand window reads:-

Also in memory of their second son Joseph Henry (FRANKLIN) Lieutenant RNVR who died September 7^th 1922 after injuries received in Great War

His name will be found listed on the Roll of Honour in the Church Room. The names of Joseph Franklin and Douglas Saxby-Thomas have never added to any of the other Great War memorials in the village.

Just inside the north entrance to the churchyard is the Parish War Memorial. From reports in the local paper, it appears that the original war memorial (war shrine as it was then called), was erected before the end of the war in September, 1918.

The following report appeared in 'The Mid-Sussex Times', of 24^th Sept., 1918:-

REMEMBERING THE DEPARTED – The war shrine erected at the Parish Church – on a spot adjoining the north entrance to the churchyard – at the cost of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Woods, of Ote Hall, has attracted considerable attention. It is of oak and of artistic design and execution, and has been generally admired by both residents and visitors. The names of the Wivelsfield men who have made the supreme sacrifice in the Crown forces appear on the front.

The memorial was refurbished in the 1990’s, and commemorates the men who gave their lives in both wars, twenty-one names are recorded for the First World War and five for the Second. The inscription reads:-

1914-1919

In grateful memory of all
who sacrificed their lives
for the good of their God, their King and Country,
especially those of this parish

Also in memory of Herbert and Louie Woods, late of Great Ote Hall, 1888-1923

The enlargement of the churchyard, was in memory of Capt. Frederick T. Godman, 9th Bn. Royal Sussex Reg. He had died as a prisoner of the Germans at Holzminden 12th Oct. 1917, he had been reported missing in action on 26th Sep.1915. A stone plaque was inserted in the west pillar of the south gate by the Godman family. After his son Thomas, was killed during the WW II, another plaque was inserted in the east pillar. The inscriptions on the west pillar reads:-

This churchyard was enlarged in memory of Capt. F. Tyrell Godman who died in he war 12^th October 1917 and of Richard his son who died 15^th July 1918 age 7.

There are two War Grave's in the south Churchyard, one records a soldier from the Great War - a local man:-

HILBORN H. J., Pte. 267066 Royal Sussex Regiment 10^th February, 1917, age 39.

This memorial is situated on the south side of Green Road, half a mile east from the junction of the B2112 Haywards Heath to Ditchling Road. The inscription reads as follows:-

Not once or twice in our rough island story. The paths of duty was the way to glory. In memory of the men of this village who died for their country.

It commemorates the men from the villages who gave their lives in both wars, twenty-one names are recorded for the First World War and four from the Second.

Wivelsfield, 1914-1920

The following is taken from 'Wivelsfield: The History of a Wealden Parish' Researched by Wivelsfield History Study Group & edited by Heather Warne pub.1994, reprinted 1995 price £11.95, available from sheila.blair@btinternet.com

The Parish (as in 2001,) Church Room in Church Lane was given in 1916 by May Holden-Rose, and it immediately became the home of the newly-formed Women's Institute.

At the outbreak of war the W.I. went into action Mrs. Godman of Little Otehall, (was to lose her husband Lt. Frederick Tryell Godman, in the war see below) was responsible, with help from Mrs. Louie Woods, (Mrs Woods and her husband were responsible for the erection in 1918, of the Parish War Memorial in the Church yard, see above) her tenant at Great Otehall and the Vicar, Mr. Wood for inaugurating the Institute. She persuaded a Russian aristocrat, Princess Kropotkin, who was living in Brighton, to become President, which gave the new group prestige. More than 70 ladies joined and together held 'Fur and Feather' shows and 'Make-do and Mend' competitions. They learned how to use a hay-box to save fuel when cooking and how a bread mixer could save time, freeing women to work on the farm. They entertained wounded soldiers and, long before school dinners were available, provided soup for the children who were on war-time rations.

On the death of Frederick Tyrell Godman in 1917, the Otehall estate was administered by the Public Trustee, who in 1920 sold off the Theobalds Estate, which was renamed the Valebridge Estate (in the south-west corner of Wivelsfield Parish). It consisted of Theobalds, “…farm house with cottages, stable buildings and 254a. 2r. 38p meadow, pasture and woodland in the Wivelsfield, Keymer Urban & Keymer Rural in the occupation of J. Woolland” This they sold by dividing, the land up into plots; and those fronting Valebridge Road and Janes Lane (Burgess Hill) being sold for building while those plots on the corner, at World’s End, (Burgess Hill) were advertised as suitable for shops. These plots were advertised as “…suitable for the early building of a country Cottage or Bungalow, or otherwise for a few acres suitable for a Poultry Farm or for fruit and gardening.” It was suggested as a good investment for “…officers and men who have fought in the War and now desire to live in the country, some of choice and many for health and to regain by this means health and vigour lost on the fields of War.” This was a pattern followed at the end of the World War 1 in several places, including Carshalton Beeches, Wallington and Ripley in Surrey, in order to rehabilitate ex-service men.

This Roll of Honour which now hangs in a glass fronted frame in the Tower Room, is believed to be the original roll that used to be displayed (in the church?) during the war. This roll was probably updated at least until 1916 for it records 80 names (the Roll of Honour in the Church Room c.1920's, contains 105 names) the roll reads:-.

"Pray for those who have gone from this Parish to serve our King and Country by land and sea and air"

Our Roll of Honour

The Roll of Honour that is displayed on the north wall records 105 names from the parish, who served and returned from the Great War. Joseph Franklin, who is listed on this roll was to later die in 1922, from wounds that he had received during the war. The roll reads as follows:-

The members of the Church of England of this Parish of Wivelsfield, with grateful recognition of the service rendered by its inhabitants in the Great War of 1914-1919 and with the desire to permanently record the individual share of its families, have caused this Tablet to be erected.

When the Great War came in August 1914, the patriotism of the young men led them to volunteer in their thousands. Wivelsfield, already had one war hero from the Boer War. On the wall in the school's library (Sep 2001) is a brass tablet, erected in memory to a former pupil of the school, the tablet reads as follows:-

THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED BY THE PRESENT AND PAST SCHOLARS AND FRIENDS TO THE MEMORY OF PERCY MACKLIN 1st ROYAL SUSSEX M.I. WHO DIED AT KLERKSDORP ON APRIL 23^RD 1902 WHILE ON ACTIVE SERVICE.

Percy Macklin, of the 1^st Bn. Royal Sussex Mounted Infantry, had died of disease, at Klerksdorp, South Africa on April 25^th 1902, while on active service. One of Percy's younger brother's Wilfred, was to later lose his life in the Great War.

To celebrate the end of the Great War a new flagstaff was erected in the school and a half-day’s holiday was given on July 4^th 1919 to recognize the ‘Signing of Peace’.

1914-1918