Municipal Gardens, Aldershot

[3][6][7] With its main entrance through restored Edwardian gates on Grosvenor Road, the Municipal Gardens are situated within the Aldershot West Conservation Area at the edge of the town centre.

The park is set out in a typical late Victorian style, with pathways including an avenue shaded by mature trees and an ornamental garden with a modern water fountain and a wisteria pergola.

In the ornamental garden at the eastern end of the park is the Cenotaph[9] which was dedicated by Theodore Woods, Bishop of Winchester, and unveiled by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester on 18 March 1925 in memory of those who gave their lives in World War I.

The reason for this absence is explained in the programme for the unveiling ceremony, which states: “It is impossible to estimate the total and exact number of Aldershot men who joined the Colours.

The military nature of our town must of necessity have rendered it a unique percentage.” The Cenotaph, which is made of Cornish granite with a large base with three steps and plinth, was built at a cost of £1,155 and was originally flanked by two artillery pieces, one German and one Turkish dating from World War I.

On 25 March 2018, on the 100th anniversary of the action in which he won his Victoria Cross during World War I, a memorial to Alfred Toye VC was unveiled beside the Cenotaph in the Municipal Gardens.