No . 138
The Trusty Servant the 2024 service took place in the presence of the Bishop of Winchester . The Order of Service drew heavily on both Dedication services that had gone before . Those present will remember that the weather was not kind , but from the shelter of War Cloister there was a poignancy to the downpour while the congregation reflected on the suffering endured by Wykehamists in both World Wars .
The Order of Service can be read on our website and the address given by the Bishop of Winchester is published in full below .
A 2023 sketch of how the US coat of arms might have been painted
fought ; hundreds of OWs have revisited the memorial and seen it in a new light ; and hundreds of others who have never seen War Cloister before have learnt of the depth of sacrifice made by this school across two world wars .
Interest in the Centenary came to a head during Cloister Time , and the Centenary itself was marked with a small ceremony on 31 st May , ( see OW
Works under way , July 2023
The refurbished US coat of arms
News ) and with a large and memorable flourish on the morning of Wykeham Day , 15 th June . Present in War Cloister for The Service of Thanksgiving and Blessing were several hundred visitors who had supported the Centenary Conservation project , along with pupils , staff and relatives of the fallen . Where possible , visitors were seated near their relative . Like the Service of Dedication in 1924 and the Rededication in 1948 ,
The Right Reverend Philip Mounstephen , Bishop of Winchester , delivered the following address in War Cloister on Saturday 15 th June 2024 :
It is a great honour , as William of Wykeham ’ s successor as Bishop of Winchester , to preside at this , the centenary of the dedication of this cloister , now so beautifully restored , built in memory of all the very many members of this College – effectively a whole generation - who gave their lives in the First World War , and in subsequent conflicts too . It is an honour to dedicate this afresh not only to their memory but to Almighty God , who in turbulent times , we trust : our God who has been our help in ages past , and is our hope for years to come .
In the years leading up to 1914 there was a growing sense of the clouds of war gathering . And in that , our day is not that dissimilar , so we do well to gather here in this cloister both to remember the past and to look forward to an uncertain future with faith .
I want in just a few minutes to reflect – in reverse order – on the two key words ‘ memorial ’ and ‘ cloister ’.
And to start with the second , we might reasonably ask , ‘ Why a
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