Moreton cemetery is famous for the final resting place of T E Lawrence and whose funeral, attended by Winston Churchill, took place in the church of St Nicholas. TEL Funeral The church is famous in its own right for the magnificent etched windows, installed when the church was refurbished, after it was bombed on 8 October 1940. The windows were designed by Laurence Whistler. One window contains, on the lower right hand side, the image of a crashed spitfire and has two sets of initials engraved on one of the propeller blades: I can't work out who RG and WG were - a recently married pilot of a spitfire that crashed nearby or was lost on active service would seem logical, anyone know of one? The church of St Martin, in nearby Wareham, contains an effigy to Lawrence of Arabia.
Inside the church is a Roll of Honour for those who died in service: PRIVATE HARRY BISHOP S/28217 Cameron Highlanders 1st Bn. Died 24 February 1917 Age 25 years old Buried or commemorated at AFFPUDDLE (ST. LAURENCE) CHURCHYARD Son of George Bishop; husband of Amy Bessie Bishop, of Melcombe Cottage, Broadmayne, Dorchester. Born at Moreton. Personal Inscription BLESSED ARE THE DEAD WHICH DIE IN THE LORD Casualty PRIVATE JAMES BLANDAMER 17127 Dorsetshire Regiment 6th Bn. Died 06 August 1916 Buried or commemorated at THIEPVAL MEMORIAL Casualty TROOPER JAMES FINLAYSON CAMERON 9/780 Otago Mounted Rifles, N.Z.E.F. Died 21 August 1915 Age 38 years old Buried or commemorated at HILL 60 (NEW ZEALAND) MEMORIAL Turkey (including Gallipoli) Son of Thomas and Martha Cameron, of Craigielaw, Longniddry, Scotland. Casualty LIEUTENANT TOM FINLAYSON CAMERON London Regiment (London Scottish) 2nd/14th Bn. Died 30 April 1918 Age 33 years old Buried or commemorated at JERUSALEM WAR CEMETERY Israel Son of Thomas and Mary Cameron, of Moreton, Dorset; husband of Joan Cameron, of 30, Elm Park Mansions, Chelsea, London. Casualty PRIVATE DONALD CAMERON 44 London Regiment (London Scottish) 1st/14th Bn. Died 15 November 1914 Age 28 years old Buried or commemorated at BOULOGNE EASTERN CEMETERY Son of Thomas and Mary A. Cameron, of Pallington, Dorchester. Native of Moreton, Dorset. Personal Inscription IN GOD'S GRACIOUS KEEPING Casualty PRIVATE WILLIAM GEORGE CLIFFORD COX PLY/1604(S) Royal Marine Light Infantry 2nd R.M. Bn. R.N. Div. Died 28 April 1917 Age 20 years old Buried or commemorated at ARRAS MEMORIAL Son of Mr. and Mrs. Cox, of 23, Affpuddle, Dorchester, Dorset. Casualty RIFLEMAN W G HART 331029 Hampshire Regiment 1st/8th Bn. Died 19 April 1917 Age 20 years old Buried or commemorated at GAZA WAR CEMETERY Son of Robert and Mary Ann Hart, of Moreton Station, Dorchester, Dorset. Personal Inscription A VOICE IS FROM OUR HOUSEHOLD GONE THE ONE WE LOVE SO DEAR Casualty PRIVATE F A HAWKINS 10778 Dorsetshire Regiment 1st Bn. Died 13 March 1915 Age 20 years old Buried or commemorated at RAMPARTS CEMETERY, LILLE GATE Son of Henry and Jane Hawkins, of Moreton, Dorchester. Personal Inscription ANCHORED SAFE WHERE STORMS ARE O'ER Casualty BOY 2ND CLASS IVOR WILLIAM JOHN MEARS J/94269 Royal Navy H.M.S. "Impregnable." Died 28 February 1919 Age 16 years old Buried or commemorated at MORETON (ST. NICHOLAS) CHURCHYARD Son of Mr. H. W. and Mrs. E. J. Mears, of The Street, Moreton. Personal Inscription THY WILL BE DONE Casualty LIEUTENANT WALTER EVELYN PARKE MiD Durham Light Infantry 2nd Bn. Died 13 October 1914 Age 23 years old Buried or commemorated at OUTTERSTEENE COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, BAILLEUL Son of Lt. Col. Lawrence Parke and Mrs. L. Parke, of Moreton Heath, Moreton, Dorset. Casualty LIEUTENANT JOHN AUBREY PARKE Durham Light Infantry attd. 9th Bn. Rifle Brigade Died 25 September 1915 Age 23 years old Buried or commemorated at YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL Son of Lt. Col. Lawrence Parke and Eveline J. Parke, of Moreton Heath, Moreton, Dorset. Casualty PRIVATE H G RAWLES 6494 Dorsetshire Regiment 1st Bn. Died 09 September 1914 Buried or commemorated at MONTREUIL-AUX-LIONS BRITISH CEMETERY Casualty COMPANY SERJEANT MAJOR WILLIAM LANGFORD WARR 203201 Hampshire Regiment 1st/4th Bn. Died 12 September 1918 Age 39 years old Buried or commemorated at TEHRAN MEMORIAL Son of William and Mary Warr, of Moreton Heath, Moreton, Dorsetshire. Casualty LIEUTENANT PHILIP TREGENWELL FETHERSTONHAUGH-FRAMPTON Royal Warwickshire Regiment attd. 2nd Bn. The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) Died 03 May 1915 Buried or commemorated at YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL Casualty SAPPER RICHARD JOHN BENNETT 1944481 Royal Engineers 250 Field Coy. Died 24 April 1944 Age 23 years old Buried or commemorated at MORETON CHURCH CEMETERY Son of Robert and Evelyn Mary Bennett, of Weymouth. Casualty and his brother SUB-LIEUTENANT (A) DAVID ROBERT BENNETT Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve F.A.A. 1770 Sqdn. H.M.S. Indefatigable. Died 11 August 1944 Buried or commemorated at TRONDHEIM (STAVNE) CEMETERY Son of Robert and Evelyn Mary Bennett, of Weymouth, Dorsetshire. Personal Inscription "AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM" Casualty LIEUTENANT JOHN ALBANY MACKAY COUSINS 255830 Military Cross Royal Armoured Corps 11th Hussars Died 28 October 1944 Age 21 years old Buried or commemorated at BERGEN-OP-ZOOM WAR CEMETERY Son of the Revd. Canon Alfred Edmund Cousins, M.C., B.A., and Margaret Rothnie Mackay Cousins, of Winfrith, Dorsetshire. Personal Inscription STRONG IN FAITH BRAVE IN DUTY LOYAL AND TRUE Casualty PRIVATE WILLIAM ARTHUR PRIDE 6028911 Cambridgeshire Regiment 1st Bn. Died 14 February 1942 Age 24 years old Buried or commemorated at KRANJI WAR CEMETERY Son of William Arthur and Ethel Kate Pride, of Moreton, Dorsetshire. Personal Inscription FATHER, IN THY GRACIOUS KEEPING LEAVE WE NOW OUR LOVED ONE SLEEPING Casualty
According to the guidebook to the church the window was designed in 1982 and was the gift of an anonymous donor. "..the window commemorates an RAF pilot shot down in the Battle of France in 1940. Salisbury cathedral, near where he was stationed, and his cottage-home are seen from the air, with the English Channel and the French coast beyond. Two pairs of initials and the years of a brief marriage are inscribed on the broken propeller" Possibly enough to identify the pilot ?