In the quiet of the cathedral Crypt stands the Braithwaite Cross – a simple wooden memorial to Val Braithwaite, a Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion Somerset Light Infantry, who was killed in action on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
After his son’s death, Valentine’s father was determined to honour him. Dissatisfied with the official wording “died”, he requested it be changed to “killed in action” – a request that was refused. He later travelled to the Somme himself, searching for where Val had fallen, but found no trace.
