Subject

St George / St. Alban

Text

S'tus Alban proto martyr Angliae

Inscription

To the Glory of God and in loving memory of Wilfred Campbell Wilson, Lieutenant Northumberland Company, Imperial Yeomanry, second son of Sir Samuel Wilson Kt. of Ercildoune; his brothers Clarence and Herbert dedicate this window. He was born iii March mdccclxxii, and on xx February mdcccci succumbed to wounds received at Haartebeestefontein, in the Transvaal, while leading his squadron into action on xviii February mdcccci.

Description & History

All Saints' Anglican Church, then known as Wycliffe Church, was opened on Sunday 20 January 1861 by the Reverend HN Wollaston, who had replaced the first Vicar, the Reverend Postlethwaite the previous year. The building was designed and supervised by Ballarat architect, HR Caselli and the Learmonth Historical Society has his plans drawn on silk in its collection. The window was ordered by two of Lieutenant Wilson's four brothers, Clarence Chesney and Herbert Haydon Wilson, both of whom served in South Africa. The design by Charles Eamer Kempe (1837-1907) depicted St. George and St. Alban, thus closely tying the Wilson family to England and the South African cause. The Kempe rebus, a small wheat-sheaf, can be seen in the left hand light near St. George's right foot. Two stained glass Boer War memorials in All Saints' Church commemorate two men of the district who joined completely different units, but who ultimately fought in the same battle at Haartebeestefontein (also spelt Hartbeestfontien) and died within days of each other.