THE Hereford Times report on the work to maintain the church at Middleton-on-the-Hill reminds me of an unusual war memorial in the church grounds.

It commemorates the safe return of all the men of the parish who fought in the two world wars. Middleton is therefore known as a ‘Thankful Village’, one of perhaps only 40 or 50 in the whole country – a sombre thought as we commemorate the centenary of the first world war.

Ironically, inside the church is a memorial to a parishioner, Francis Kinchant who was killed at the Battle of Waterloo, the bicentenary of which we will commemorate in June this year.

JOSEPH COCKER Castlefields, Leominster