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A Rutland church is returning a crucifix to its original home on the Somme, more than a century after it was salvaged by a British chaplain.
Members of All Saints Church, in the village of Tinwell, Rutland, are taking back a French cross more than 100 years after it was salvaged from the ruins of the church of Doingt-Flamicourt. During World War One, the village of Doingt, a commune within the Somme Basin, was an integral component of the Hindenburg Line. The French village was often on the front line for much of the conflict, first witnessing heavy combat during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. It was progressively destroyed via shelling over the next two years and by the time of the signing of the Armistice in 1918, the entire village, including the church, had been reduced to rubble. However, one holy artefact from the church was saved from the ruins and brought to All Saints in Tinwell, near Stamford, and gradually the story of its recovery was forgotten.
A century later, Mrs June Dodkin, a former churchwarden of the parish, decided to find out how the original French-style crucifix had found its way to Engl…
