German War Memorial

German War Memorial. . In this churchyard is a memorial to the German prisoners of war who died in Dorchester prison camp during the First World War., The memorial was designed by one of the prisoners, Karl Bartholmay, in 1919. It is a sculpture carved in Portland stone by another prisoner, Josef Walter, showing a kneeling German soldier holding a rifle. The inscription is in German and means "Here lie German soldiers in a foreign land but not forgotten. 1914 - Dorchester - 1919"., The camp, which was on what is now the Grove Trading Estate, had over 4,000 prisoners at its height. Until mid-1918 only twelve men had died there. Each one of them was taken in a solemn funeral procession through the town to be buried in Fordington churchyard. Concrete headstones were made by fellow-prisoners to mark their graves. Thirty-three more men subsequently died in the post-war influenza epidemic and they, too, were buried here., In 1959, the bodies were transferred to the vast German War Cemetery on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. Every year the men continue to be commemorated at a service in Fordington churchyard on the afternoon of Remembrance Sunday., The memorial's designer, Karl Bartholmay, who also made drawings of the prison camp, returned to his work as a lecturer in the Arts and Crafts School at Elberfeld in Germany., This is the only memorial of its kind in the country. In its creation, and in their treatment of the prisoners in the camp, the people of Dorchester showed a remarkable tolerance of the enemy in their midst., How to find the Memorial: , Go through the gate and head towards the dark yew trees. At the grave with the cut-out circular cross, bear left and walk along the northern edge of the churchyard. You can see the former Swan Inn down below you on your left. Head to the far end of the graveyard, then double back, keeping to the lower level of the graveyard. Keep on past the graves marked 'Ambrose Thomas Legg' and 'Kate Elizabeth Godbehear' and you will reach the Memorial. Beware uneven ground.