These Images show the War Shrine outside Herne Bay’s Town Hall (the site is now occupied by the HSBC Bank – the Town Hall was destroyed by fire in 1925). War Shrines (also known as Street Shrines) were common throughout the country during the Great War – the first street shrine being set up in south Hackney in London in mid 1916. The shrines were used not simply as a focal point for remembering the dead, but also to pray for the living who were away on active service.
Herne Bay’s War Shrine was unveiled by Brigadier-General the Hon W E Cavendish and dedicated by the Bishop of Dover on Saturday 24th February 1917. The second image depicts the scene at the town’s War Shrine on Armistice Day 1920.
Image and text From the Collection of the Herne Bay Historical Records Society