AN £80,000 memorial to a village's war heroes – and two assassinated police officers – was unveiled on Saturday.
The ceremony, attended by 250 people, marked the installation of Woldingham's first permanent memorial to its "heroes".
Senior military personnel and ex-servicemen were among those present at the ceremony in front of St Paul's Church in Croft Road.
The memorial, which lists the names of 46 villagers, was designed by architect Liam O'Connor, who was responsible for the Bomber Command Memorial in London's Green Park. Its unveiling, just ahead of Remembrance Day, was made possible by the extensive fundraising of villagers
Peter Johnson, who chaired the memorial appeal committee, said: "It was a very moving ceremony at which some tears were shed.
"Some schoolchildren read out the names, and ages, of all those commemorated."
He added: "As a 1940 baby, I have often thought that I owe my life today to such as those whom we now seek to remember properly in Woldingham.
"We were the only village in Surrey which did not have an external stone memorial to the war dead, and others."
The old wooden memorial in the church was riddled with woodworm and beyond repair.
Among those commemorated on the new memorial is Pilot Officer Owen Jenkins.
He was gunned down by a German pilot as he parachuted down over Woldingham in 1940.
Father and daughter Raymond and Linda Baggley – who both served with the Royal Ulster Constabulary – are also featured.
Mr Baggley was shot dead by a gunman while on foot patrol in Northern Ireland in 1974, aged 42. His daughter was fatally shot in the neck two years later, aged 19.
Others who gave service to the community are also commemorated.
William T Barden was just 28 when he died in one of the first-ever submarine disasters. The boat he was on collided with HMS Hazard during trials in the Solent. All 14 crew members died.
The new memorial will be studied by children at nearby Woodlea Primary School as part of their National Curriculum.
