Luton Reporter Tuesday 16/11/1920 printed a lengthy report of the unveiling, which began:
'OUR HONOURED DEAD. WAR MEMORIALS UNVEILED AT LUTON PARISH CHURCH. MAJOR HAROLD WERNHER'S ELOQUENT ADDRESS. A week rich in hallowed memories was on Sunday immortalised for Lutonians by the unveiling and dedication at the Parish Church of three distinctive memorials to a local officer, the men of the congregation, and all the men of Luton who fell on active service during the great war. It was by no means the first occasion on which Luton's grand old parish church has been the stately setting for the pouring out of loving tributes to the memory of our honoured and glorious dead, but the threefold character of the memorial scheme consummated at Sunday morning's service made it quite unique in its significance and appeal, and this was reflected to the full in the intense interest manifested among practically every section of the town's community. The principal factor in the awakening of such widespread interest amongst the towns-people as a whole was the inclusion in the scheme of a memorial niche for the reception of the "Book of Life," in which there has been recorded the names of all Luton men who died on active service during the war It, is erected on the right hand side of the entrance to the Someries Chapel, and is a really handsome addition to the architectural beauties of the church. Carried out. in the local Totternhoe clunch stone, which is so characteristic of the interior of the church, with finials corresponding to the carving on the reredos in the Someries Chapel, the recess is surmounted by a sculptured representation of St. George and the Dragon, and beneath is a shield bearing the cross of St. George. An oaken door, adorned with hand-worked metal fashioned in the medieval style, and bearing the Luton inscription "Liber vitae," thrown into prominence by a scarlet background, opens outwards on to a stone slab, upheld by a corbel consisting of a skilfully carved angel holding a scroll inscribed with the letters "R.I.P.," and around the base of the slab are the words "Their name liveth for evermore." The other two memorials consist of marble tablets both of which, like the niche, have been designed and executed under the direction of Mr. W. H. Romaine-Walker, the architect responsible for the restoration of the Someries Chapel and many other architectural additions to the church of recent years. The memorial erected by the Parish Church congregation to the memory of the men who went forth from the church and died on active service is placed in the centre of the north wall and is a strikingly artistic marble tablet containing the names of the men who fell, and nearer to the north door Is a smaller tablet erected by Mr. Douglas Stratford to the memory of his only son, Lieut. Hubert Douglas Stratford, Grenadier Guards, who fell in action on April 13th. 1918. The unveiling was performed by Major Harold Wernher, with whom Lord and Lady Ludlow and Lady Zia Wernher occupied seats in the Someries Chapel, the dedication was undertaken by the Vicar and Rural Dean, Rev. A. H. Chapman, and at the invitation of the Vicar the service was attended in civic state by the Mayor and Corporation, accompanied in procession from the Public Library, by the Corporation officers, co-opted members of the Council committees, borough justices, County Councillors, Overseers, members of the War Pensions Committee and Board of Guardians, police force, fire brigade, and St. John Ambulance Brigade. Seats were also set apart, for a party of uniformed officers, Lieut.-CoL H. P Green. and Major E. S. Tabor, M.C., of the Bedfords, and Capt. S. J. Green, of the Scots Guards, being among the representatives of the regular Army, Capt. A. J. Mander and Lieut. J. H. Gutteridge, of the Territorial Force, while Major H Cumberland Brown and Capt., Harry Inwards were at the head of a number of volunteer officers. Contingents of the two local ex-service men's organisations and the St. Mary's companies of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and except for the seats reserved for the civic party, the church was crowded out, nearly half an hour before the commencement of the service. Outside a queue extended from the north door to the edge of the pavement in Church-street, and few of those in it were rewarded for their patient wait while many other late arrivals had to be content with seeing the civic processions through the town...' (The report proceeded to explain the proceedings and speeches in detail, including that made by Major Wernher after the unveiling: 'Major Wernher addressed the congregation from the chancel steps and his clearly spoken, soldierly utterances made a great impression. Major Werner said each of the three memorials he had had the proud honour to unveil had a special significance to them. First of all in the niche they had the names of nearly a thousand of the pick of the youth and manhood of Luton who each answered the call of duty and laid down their lives in the great cause for which we fought; they laid down their lives that all others in that town might enjoy the freedom enjoyed by their forefathers, and the gallant names were recorded in that shrine of honour regardless of their religion. In the second place there was a memorial tablet containing the names of those fallen men who worshipped in the parish church during their lifetime, and in the third place there was the memorial to Lieut. Stratford. one of those many heroic examples where an only son paid the supreme sacrifice. The most appropriate tribute from the soldiers' point of view was embraced in the two minutes silence which at the instigation of his Majesty the King we carried out annually on Armistice Day. No words of his could adequately extol the deeds of those men who gave up their all for their country, and alas, never returned to enjoy the success of their labours. No sympathy either would be too sincere for those sorrowing widows, mothers and little children who were left behind. It was therefore singularly appropriate that we should erect in that ancient church some visible memorial, something to remind us and our children after them of the debt we owed to them, some sign of our honour to their memory...').
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