St. Mary the Virgin Church, Church Hill/ The Street, Tockington
Grid reference ST 60105 87268
A war memorial in the form of a cross is located in the south-east corner of the churchyard, erected to the memory of 33 local men who fell in WWI. It was unveiled and dedicated on Sunday 1st August 1920 by Dr Wynne Willson, the Dean of Bristol and chief patron of the living of Olveston. On the day of the service the church was crowded, with many more stood outside. The front seats were reserved for the relatives of the fallen men. About 100 ex-servicemen under Major C.E. Turner, D.S.O. paraded and attended the service, prior to which the ringers rang a muffled peel.
The organising committee, chaired by the local vicar, collected £500 to cover the cost of the cross and its installation. The cross was designed by Sir Reginald Bloomfield, R.A. and is a replica of one designed for the battlefield cemeteries. The architect, Mr Graham Awdry of Bristol, created a setting by modifying the churchyard wall and placing a series of steps of local stone to lead up to the cross from the roadway. The height of the cross from its base is fourteen-and-a-half feet and features a bronze crusader's sword on either side. The installation of the memorial was carried out by Mr Cullen of Olveston. In 1946 a further bronze plate was added with the names of local men who fell in WWII. In 1953 a further plate was added for the Korean War.
On 11 November each year at 1100 hours a two minute silence is observed at the war memorial. A combined service of remembrance is held in the church on Remembrance Sunday, recalling the names of all the fallen from Olveston, plus those who are remembered on plaques within the churches at Aust, Elberton, and Littleton-on-Severn.