Rustington War Memorial Restoration
September 2026
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Recreating the Rustington War Memorial:
A Story of Craftsmanship and Care
There are some jobs where getting it “close enough” simply isn’t good enough. The Rustington War Memorial, on The Street in West Sussex, was one of them.
Commissioned by Rustington Parish Council, this project asked our stonemasons to do something we take very seriously: give a community back its memorial, stone for stone, letter for letter, exactly as those who built it in the last century intended.
ABOVE: Watch the full restoration video.
A Memorial That Had Given All It Could
Our site inspection in July 2025 told a familiar but difficult story. The memorial’s surface was finely encrusted with biological growth – moss, algae and lichen – encouraged by the shrubs and hedging that surround it, alongside a build-up of carbon deposits from general air pollution and the passing traffic on the nearby road.
More seriously, there were clear signs of surface erosion, most pronounced at the base of each stone block. This pattern is typical of trapped moisture – often the result of an incompatible mortar that doesn’t allow the stone to “breathe” and release the water it absorbs. Over time, that trapped moisture does what water always does to stone: it breaks it down from the inside.
By the time our team returned to site, the deterioration had gone beyond what conservation and repair could fix. The only way to give Rustington a memorial fit for the next century was to recreate it.
BELOW: The extent of deterioation to the memorial saw repairing unviable.
Precision from the Ground Up
Working from careful measurements and photographs of the original, our stonemasons carved a complete replica in Portland stone – the same material used in the original memorial, and in war memorials the length and breadth of the country.
Modern CNC cutting machinery gave us the accuracy to match the memorial’s proportions and mouldings precisely, but the details that make a memorial feel right still come from hand skill. Our carvers hand-cut the entire inscription, V-cut and finished with black enamel to match the original lettering style, and hand-carved the wreath – one of the most demanding and rewarding pieces of detail on the whole memorial – to the same depth and character as the piece it replaces.
BELOW: 3D models were created using detailed reference diagrams to prepare the Portland stone blocks for CNC cutting.
BELOW: The CNC machine cut the four Portland blocks with intricate precision.
BELOW: The memorial body block surfaces were finished by hand.
BELOW: A new precision-cut base was also created as part of the new memorial.
Where the Machine Stops and the Hand Begins
Words matter on a war memorial. The inscription is the whole point of the stone:
“TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN HONOURED AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE PEOPLE OF RUSTINGTON WHO FELL IN THE WARS”
Each letter was V-cut directly into the face of the new Portland stone, set out to match the size, spacing and character of the original inscription as closely as possible. The one deliberate departure from the original: rather than replicate the small hand-cut inconsistencies of the 1920s lettering, our stonemasons set the inscription out with a true, even computer-drawn font before cutting – the memorial gains the crisp, legible lettering it was always meant to have, without losing anything of its character.
The cutting itself is unforgiving work. A V-cut groove is carved by hand at a precise angle on both sides of every letter stroke, so the light catches the incision and throws each word into sharp relief – miss the angle and the letter looks wrong from every direction but the one you cut it from. Once the lettering was finished, each groove was carefully filled with black enamel, painted in by hand letter by letter, stroke by stroke, to bring the inscription forward from the stone and make sure it reads as clearly in fifty years’ time as it does today.
The wreath started life as a rough ring, milled from a solid block of Portland stone by our CNC cutter – accurate to the millimetre for size and outer profile, but flat and featureless. From there, it was over to the stonemasons.
Before a single tool touched the stone, the leaf pattern was marked out by hand, pencilled directly onto the surface from the original design references, so every leaf, overlap and binding knot would sit exactly where its 1940s counterpart did. Only then did the carving begin – first with an angle grinder to remove the bulk of the waste stone and rough in the depth of the relief, working carefully around the pencil lines in clouds of stone dust.
The finer the work got, the more the tools changed. Grinders gave way to hand chisels and a mallet, cutting each individual leaf, vein and fold by eye and feel rather than by measurement. It’s a slow, deliberate process – take off too much stone in the wrong place and there’s no putting it back – but it’s exactly that risk that gives a hand-carved wreath its life. No two leaves are quite identical, the same way they weren’t on the original memorial, because they were never meant to be machine-perfect. They were meant to be carved by someone who cared about getting it right.
The finished wreath, sanded smooth and ready to be set into the memorial’s face, carries that same quiet detail the people of Rustington would have seen on the day it was first unveiled – recreated not by scanning and printing, but by a stonemason’s hands doing what CNC machinery still can’t.
The cutting itself is unforgiving work. A V-cut groove is carved by hand at a precise angle on both sides of every letter stroke, so the light catches the incision and throws each word into sharp relief – miss the angle and the letter looks wrong from every direction but the one you cut it from. Once the lettering was finished, each groove was carefully filled with black enamel, painted in by hand letter by letter, stroke by stroke, to bring the inscription forward from the stone and make sure it reads as clearly in fifty years’ time as it does today.
BELOW: The finished wreath finished the memorial when fitted.
BELOW: Preparation for careful transport to West Sussex.
A Respectful Removal, and a Careful Return
Before a single new block could go up, the old memorial had to come down – and it had to come down with dignity. Our team set out protective barriers around the memorial garden and used a small mobile spider crane to dismantle the existing structure section by section, removing it from site for respectful disposal.
The new memorial was then built up on the original foundations, each section fitted with stainless steel dowels and bedded in a lime-based mortar – the breathable material the original inspection identified as key to preventing the same deterioration happening again. Joints were kept to no more than 5mm, pointed in lime mortar, and washed down with clean water on completion.
The final lift and fit was carried out by our experienced fixing crew using a modern spider crane, chosen specifically for its ability to work with precision in the tight, planted confines of a village memorial garden.
Standing Again, for the Next Hundred Years
The people of Rustington gathered their memorial to honour those who fell in two world wars. Our job was never to make something new – it was to make sure that act of remembrance endures, carved with the same care and permanence as the original stonemasons intended in the first place.
War Memorial Conservation Co. is proud to have carried out this work for Rustington Parish Council, and prouder still that the memorial is now back where it belongs.
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Covid Memorial in Hornchurch Country Park
Covid Memorial in Hornchurch Country Park
March 2022
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ABOVE: The memorial sits in a tranquille place in Hornchurch Country Park.
On 23rd March 2022, Havering Council officially opened the Covid-19 Memorial Woodland at Hornchurch Country Park in the London Borough of Havering, created to honour and remember those who were lost during the pandemic.
Under our monumental memorial masonry partners, Mossfords Memorial Masons, our artisans at War Memorial Conservation Co. were proud to play a significant role in this meaningful project. Working alongside our wider group of highly skilled hand engravers, carvers, sawing technicians, memorial fixers and project managers, the team helped design, craft and install the stone centrepiece located within the Central Memorial area of the woodland.
We also have a long-standing history of collaboration on large-scale memorial installations with Stone Sign Company, specialists in crafting striking monoliths and boulder-style monuments from natural stone.
Watch the design, creation, and installation of the stone monument at the Covid Memorial Woodland in Hornchurch Country Park, Havering, London:
ABOVE: Watch the full creation on our memorial mason partner’s YouTube channel, Mossfords Memorial Masons.
Over 4,000 Trees Surround Woodkirk Sandstone Monument
The creation of the central memorial took approximately six months of design and planning, followed by six weeks of skilled craftsmanship and a further two weeks for careful on-site installation.
The finished monument is carved from striking Woodkirk Sandstone and weighs approximately 2.8 tonnes. It now sits within a beautifully landscaped woodland environment surrounded by over 4,000 newly planted trees.
The memorial woodland as a whole serves as a place of reflection and remembrance for those who lost their lives to Covid-19, while also paying tribute to the dedication and resilience of key workers and the local community who supported the London Borough of Havering throughout the pandemic.
BELOW: Image credit – Havering Council
Community Support for the Memorial Woodland
In summer 2021, Havering Council consulted residents on proposals to create a Covid Memorial Woodland within Hornchurch Country Park.
The response was overwhelmingly positive, with strong community support for the project. In developing the site, the Council also committed to enhancing biodiversity and ensuring the space would allow trees, wildlife, and nature to flourish alongside the memorial itself.
Installation of the Monument
Opening Ceremony – 23rd March 2022
The Covid Memorial Woodland was officially opened on 23rd March 2022, marking both the National Day of Reflection and the second anniversary of the UK lockdown.
The ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Havering, Councillor John Mylod, alongside council representatives, members of the voluntary sector, and families who had lost loved ones.
The central memorial, including the stone monument created by our team, was designed to offer a peaceful and contemplative space for quiet reflection and remembrance.
As the Mayor of Havering, Councillor John Mylod, said:
“We have all been impacted by the awful Pandemic, all aspects of our lives changed. We had to come together as a community to do our best to keep everyone safe and protect our most vulnerable. Today was an opportunity for Havering to collectively reflect and remember all we have lost and endured. I hope this Memorial woodland gives comfort to all of Havering for generations to come.”
ABOVE: Image credit – Havering Council
ABOVE: Image credit – Havering Council
ABOVE: Image credit – Havering Council
A Lasting Remembrance
The completed Covid Memorial Woodland now stands as a lasting tribute within Hornchurch Country Park, providing a dedicated space for remembrance, reflection, and community healing.
At War Memorial Conservation Co., we are honoured to contribute to memorial projects of this significance, helping create lasting stone tributes that preserve memory and meaning for generations to come.
ABOVE: Image credit – Havering Council
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Kilvey War Monument, Swansea
Kilvey War Monument, Swansea
Nov 2024
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ABOVE: The magnificent war monument represents the memory of the 70 souls of the boys of Old Kilvey lost in WW1.
On November 15, 2024, the resilient community of Kilvey came together under bright autumn skies to honour a group of local heroes who had been lost to time but never forgotten. The unveiling of the new Kilvey War Memorial was a poignant tribute to “The Boys of Old Kilvey”—70 men who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War I. The journey to this day was one of perseverance, vision, and collaboration.
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ABOVE: We documented the complete creation of the Kilvey War Monument through our parent company Mossfords Memorial Masons.
The inspiration for the new memorial began with one determined individual, Anita Pugh, from the SOMMe Charity. For years, Anita had worked tirelessly to recover and restore the remains of the original Kilvey War Memorial. The original plaques had suffered a tragic history, damaged by fire and sadly broken after the Old Saints Church in Kilvey was sold.
By the time Anita found them, only a few broken marble sections remained, their inscriptions faded and their presence all but forgotten.
BELOW: The marble plaques were in a very poor state of repair. Only our seasoned stonemasons had the expertise to renovate them.
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The Design
In early 2024, Anita approached Mossfords Memorial Masons, renowned for their expertise in commemorative projects, to take on this deeply personal mission. Mossfords’ Special Projects Division, War Memorial Conservation Co., embraced the challenge with passion.
They took the broken marble plaques and carefully restored them. Piecing them together seamlessly could only be done by our highly experienced and tremendously skilled artisans. The marble was carefully cleaned using our intricate methods, the inscription hand-restored and painted in black enamel ensuring the names of the 70 fallen soldiers would once again shine brightly.
BELOW: An archive photograph of the original wall-mounted memorial within All Saints Church, Kilvey – only the three marble plaques with the names of the fallen engraved had survived and were to be adapted into the new external monument.
BELOW: Our highly-skilled artisans worked carefully restoring the marble plaques by hand.
BELOW: The disused fibreglass flagpole sat at the location of the new monument.
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The design process was deliberate and meticulous, going through several stages before arriving at the final, magnificent form. Early drafts explored various shapes and configurations, but the final design was chosen for its understated elegance—a seamless unity of strength and grace.
BELOW: Initial designs for the sides of the memorial that were to be created by Welsh blacksmith James Eifion Thomas.
BELOW: The design development for a more substantial base that displays the marble plaques.
During the design process, Anita Pugh and representatives from the community were actively involved, ensuring the memorial reflected the collective vision of Kilvey’s residents. It was vital that the monument not only honoured the fallen but also embodied the strength and unity of those who remembered them.
Every detail of the base was infused with meaning, from its deep black colour—a solemn tribute to mourning—to its polished surface, reflecting the light of the present as a beacon of remembrance for the future.
BELOW: Renderings of how the monument would sit on the flagpole platform. Note the original design constructed entirely of black granite.
BELOW: Proposed measurements of the memorial sitting atop the existing platform.
The Creation
The foundation of the new Kilvey War Memorial was as much a testament to modern craftsmanship as it was to the timeless reverence of those it honoured. The base, an ultra-strong frame clad with fine black granite, became a marriage of strength and elegance, designed to endure for generations.
This base were to be no ordinary structure—it is the backbone of the monument, supporting not only the weight of its physical elements but ensuring resistance to vibration from the road close by. A magnificent structure that the existing flagpole platform could support.
A unique feature of the memorial is its time-capsule niche, a sealed and enclosed space designed to preserve memories for future generations. This detail underscores the community’s commitment to ensuring that the sacrifices of the past are remembered far into the future.
BELOW: Fabricating the frame – note the inbuilt ‘cage’ to house the time capsule toward the rear.
To create the granite cladding, the team used a state-of-the-art CNC saw, a marvel of precision technology. Each slab of fine black granite was intricately cut, ensuring an exact fit for every piece.
Weeding the inscription rubber on the granite panels.
Meticulous hand-polishing in preparation for fitment.
The stonemasons’ work was a labour of love. Once the granite slabs were cut, each seam was painstakingly polished to near invisibility. The aim was to make the cladding appear as though it were a single, solid block of granite—a monolithic testament to permanence and respect.
This painstaking process required a blend of artistry and patience, as each joint was polished by hand until it achieved a mirror-like finish.
BELOW: Applying the granite panels to the frame.
BELOW: Polishing the seams at our manufacturing facility. This was later touched-up on-site.
The Installation
When the base was finally complete, it was transported to the site in Swansea with the utmost care. The installation process was as precise as the construction itself, with the help of our expert fixers’ techniques and the strength and versatility of a spider-crane. The frame and cladding were carefully aligned to ensure stability and aesthetic perfection.
As the granite base took its place in Kilvey, it transformed the site into a place of solemn reflection, standing as a solid foundation for the artistry to be placed above.
BELOW: The strength of the spider-crane helped steady the fibreglass flagpole while it was felled.
Lifting the granite memorial and manoeuvring it into position.
Positioning the remaining granite panels.
Sealing the entire memorial from the inside.
Fitting the refurbished marble plaques.
The memorial awaiting fitment of the metal sculpture.
The Metalwork
Renowned Welsh blacksmith James Eifion Thomas was commissioned to create a metal sculpture to sit atop the granite base. Drawing inspiration from the soldiers themselves, James hand-crafted 70 intricate poppies, each one representing a life lost.
His artistry brought both beauty and solemnity to the monument, transforming it into a powerful symbol of remembrance.
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The Ceremony
The unveiling ceremony was a fitting tribute to the long and collaborative effort behind the memorial.
Members of the British Army’s 157 Regiment RLC stood alongside representatives from South Wales Police, the Royal British Legion, Swansea Council, and the Lord Mayor of the City and Council of Swansea. Families and local residents gathered as the silver-inlaid verses shone and marble-inscribed names of “The Boys of Old Kilvey” were revealed once more.
Anita Pugh’s years of dedication had finally come to fruition and the sight of the new memorial standing tall in Kilvey was both humbling and inspiring. It was a reminder not only of the cost of war but also of the enduring power of community and remembrance.
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