Dursley - Cam Mill War Memorial - Soldiers Details - Lower Cam,

There were perhaps few industries which provided a greater proportion of fighting men from their employees than the cloth mills at Cam. Eighty Eight men in all enlisted in one or other branch of the Services, and of these "nine" gave their lives for their Country. As a tribute to their memory a carved oak tablet was last week unveiled in the vestibule of the Offices at Cam Mills. The ceremony was performed by Mr. A.R. Grieve, a director in the firm, at a general meeting of the employees, and there were also present Mr. H.B. Winterbotham, J.P. (Chairman of the Company), Mrs. Winterbotham, Mr. L.P. Winterbotham, J.P. and Mrs Bruton, (Directors) and members of the staff.

IN HONOURED REMEMBRANCE
OF
NINE EMPLOYEES OF CAM MILLS
WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR
OF 1914-1918
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"But they left us a Kingdom none can take,
The realm of the circling sea!"
SOLDIERS DETAILS
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Mr. Grieve in his speech said:-

In all the years I have been associated with you at Cam nothing I can remember has given me so much pleasure as to receive the invitation from your Committee to speak to you on this occasson. - it is one of the proudest moments of my life. And first of all, I want you to be assured that however feeble my words may be they express the innermost feelings of my heart. What is the real meaning, and what the present issue of this great war that, thank God, we have now left behind us? it is not that these brave sons and brothers of ours at Cam, and the thousands of other sons and brothers elsewhere, aye and sisters too, have laid down their lives to make this country a better place for you and for me to live in? Nine of your fellow workers went from Cam Mills at their country's call never to return again, and though you and I will never forget them, it is nevertheless well that we should erect this tablet to heir memories, for them, when time with you and me shall be no more, those who came after us will perhaps realise the price paid by their forefather to win for them their inheritance. It must of course be obvious to all of us that things cannot be today what they were in July 1914. The world must be reconstructed, and it is your duty and mine to lay the foundation stones for this reconstruction. May I, as an old man, make to you one suggestion, and that is that we should daily offer that prayer we all learnt at our Mothers' knee. "Thy will be done on earth". What a wonderful petition that is! And I venture to think that if one and all of us, every man, woman, and child, kept this prayer continually in mind and tried to do our part to bring about its realisation, the task of remodeling this world would already have become an easier one.
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Mr. H.B. Winterbotham said:-

I hope the result of this little ceremony will be that we shall never think of those nine men who are gone without feeling that it is left to us to see to it that those of us who remain will do our part, as they would have done, to leave this world a brighter and better place for those who will come after us.

The "Last Post" was then sounded by Private Whittard, after which Mr. Grieve unveiled the memorial and all those assembled filed past, - ex-servicemen and volunteers saluting.

At the close of the ceremony each employee was presented with a suitably compiled brochure of 28 pages, containing the names, ranks etc. of all who had served in the war together with other interesting particulars and records. It is prefaced by the following forward:-

"There is perhaps no section of the community to whom the events of 1914-1919 can be of such far-reaching interest and importance, as they are to the children of today. It is to them that this little record is dedicated, and it maybe that in the coming years of peace and prosperity, secured for them by deeds of sacrifice and valour, they may sometimes recall with gratitude the names of those who helped to win for them their inheritance".