Thursday 26th December 2013
Warminster Town Council have published the following press release ~
As part of the commemorations for the First World War being planned for 2014, local historian Danny Howell has approached the Town Council asking for their help in uncovering the dog grave on Copheap. In 1917 a soldier serving in the Army Service Corps in Warminster accidentally shot a dog on Copheap, and was so distressed that he and his colleagues buried the dog, covering the grave with a small area of concrete and erecting an iron cross on it. This grave then became a landmark for following generations of Warminster people, and Danny remembers visiting it with his parents as a young boy, laying posies of wild flowers at the base of the cross.
In the mid-1980s the cross was vandalised, buckling it downwards, and since then the grave has become overgrown with soil and brambles. Fallen trees are left lying because Copheap is now a wildlife habitat, and the grave is no longer visible. Danny would like to locate the grave using a metal detector, and uncover and renovate the concrete slab. He also wishes to ask a local blacksmith to make a new cross for the grave.
Informal discussions with the Town Council indicate that the Councillors are happy to support Danny’s initiative, which will be a fitting project as part of the WWI commemorations beginning next year. The Council would like to ask any members of the public who would like to help in the search to contact them, and they will liaise with Danny. Also, if anyone has any photographs of the grave, or can remember visiting it, could you please let us know so that we can incorporate these into the exhibition in August 2014. Please contact us on 01985 214847 or via the website www.warminster.uk.com, if you can help in any way.