The First World War and St. Luke’s Church, Cannock
David Gethin has researched the stained glass windows in St. Luke’s Church, Cannock,
which commemorate the First World War.
The Communion Window
This is one of the World War One commemorative windows on the south side of the nave. The window shown here was donated by Charles Adshead Loxton (b. 1864), in memory of his son Charles Edward Holden Loxton (b. 1893), known as Edward, a Lieutenant in the North Staffs Regiment. Edward died on May 23rd 1915 at Wulverghem in Belgium and is buried in Nieukirche Cemetery.
The window is entitled ‘Last Communion on the Battlefield’. It was inspired by a letter from a fellow officer to Edward’s father in which he writes: ‘Your wife will be pleased to know that your son partook of Holy Communion on Thursday last. A few of us went just before we came to the trenches’. Edward can be seen kneeling to receive Holy Communion from the priest. The likeness to Edward is quite striking and, according to Charles Loxton’s notes about the window, all the soldiers in the window are modelled on real soldiers from Edward’s regiment.
The window was dedicated in Edward’s memory on Maundy Thursday 1917, a festival which commemorates the institution of Holy Communion by Jesus in the Upper Room.
The many coats of arms in the window tell the story of Edward’s life before joining the army and beneath the flag of St. George we find the coat of arms of his Regiment whose Colonel in Chief was the Prince of Wales, hence the three feathers and the motto ‘ich dien’, part of the Prince’s own coat of arms.
The Communion Window, St. Luke’s Church, Cannock
Image reproduced courtesy of St. Luke’s Church, Cannock. Thanks to Nigel and Janet Bailey and to David Gethin
The St. Michael Window
The St. Michael window was dedicated in 1922 in memory of all the men from the District who died in World War One. Their names are recorded on the brass plaque beneath the window. Twenty-seven of the names recorded on the plaque do not appear on the War Memorial in Cannock Town Centre.
Church documents show that the Loxton family were major contributors in the installation of this window, in memory of another member of their family, Ernest Adshead Dudley Loxton (b. 1889), the nephew of Charles Adshead Loxton (b. 1864). Although Ernest’s name appears both on the brass plaque and on the War Memorial in Cannock Town Centre, he never actually lived in Cannock. When war broke out he was living in Australia and joined the Australian Imperial Force, fighting in Gallipoli, France and Belgium. He was killed on April 24th 1918 and is buried in Caestre Cemetery.
This window tells a three part story. In the first part evil enters into the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Adam is here cast out of the Garden of Eden and his tempter, the serpent, is seen close by. The imagery infers that evil entered the world again in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War.
The story continues with the overcoming of this evil, its defeat symbolised in the story of St. Michael’s triumph over the devil, seen here as a dragon breathing fire. Michael holds aloft the banner of triumph behind which is the glorious light of the dawning of a new age in which there would be no war.
The final part of the story sees three ships set sail on a stormy ocean, their banners carrying the symbols of faith, hope and charity. These are the three graces and in Christian art they are often shown as young ladies. Hope is shown here with her anchor, symbolising the hope that, following the disaster of World War One, the future would indeed be one of peace for the whole world. However, the stormy sea suggests that the journey towards peace and harmony might not be as easy and straightforward as the world hoped it would be.
The St. Michael Window, St. Luke’s Church, Cannock
Image reproduced courtesy of St. Luke’s Church, Cannock. Thanks to Nigel and Janet Bailey and to David Gethin
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