Wyndham Park has hosted a special ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its naming and opening.
The council-owned park in Grantham memorialises Captain Reginald Wyndham, killed in action at Ypres in Belgium in 1914.
His mother the Dowager Lady Leconfield bequeathed £1,000 to mark her son’s Grantham connections, with a significant military gathering in the park for the opening.
Members of the Wyndham family joined senior representatives of The Life Guards, Capt Wyndham’s regiment, including its Colonel Lt Gen Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne KCVO CBE and Gold Stick.
Lincolnshire’s Lord Lieutenant Toby Dennis also attended, along with Royal British Legion representatives and elected councillors from South Kesteven District Council and Grantham Town Council.
Combined Cadet Force representatives from the Kings School marched through the park.
Cllr Richard Dixon Warren, SKDC Armed Forces Champion, said: “It was an absolute privilege to attend the service and to witness how important this park is to the Wyndham family and their ancestor’s Regiment, The Life Guards.”
The ceremony replicated parts of the original 1924 service and was officiated by Padre Ivan Linton from Prince William of Gloucester barracks.
It included an address by Lord Egremont, head of the Wyndham family, tracing Reggie Wyndham’s life and local links, voluntary service in WW1 and determination to lead his men at Ypres, plus a reading by Lt Col Duncan Lowe, Head of Establishment at PWOG.
Lt Col Ray Ogg BEM, King’s School cadet Contingent Commander, was later presented by Toby Dennis with the 6th Bar to his Cadet Force Medal issued in 1985.
The ceremony was organised by the Wyndham Park Forum.
Image credit: Google maps
