A DORSET village which lost no soldiers during either world war is set to receive a plaque honouring its status.

Langton Herring is one of 14 villages in Britain not to have lost any soldiers in either conflict – known as a ‘doubly thankful village.’ The phrase ‘Thankful Village’ was popularised by writer Arthur Mees in his 1933 encyclopedia titled The King’s England.

Langton Herring became Dorset’s only ‘thankful village’ following the First World War.

It became ‘doubly thankful’ after losing no service personnel in the Second World War.

It recently had new road signs installed at either end of the village to mark this fact.

The signs were put up after funding was made available by Chesil Bank Parish Council and Dorset County Council.

Sheila Milton, Langton Herring Parish Chairman, said: “They’ve been up for two or three weeks.

“Ours had been defaced for some years. We’ve wanted to get it redone. It’s all happened in about two months. Although we are a small village, there are an awful lot of people who are widely travelled and have retired here.”

There are 51 villages in the UK not to have lost any of its soldiers during the First World War. In the Great War, one in eight of the six million who left Britain did not return.

Last summer, two Welsh motorcyclists, with assistance from the Triumph Motorcycle Action Group, visited all 51 thankful villages where there are no traditional war memorials.

Together they helped try to raise £51,000 for the Royal British Legion. They decided they would present all of the villages with a Welsh Slate plaque.

Margaret Connolly and Judy Barrett, church wardens at St Peter’s Church in Langton Herring, helped Sheila bring new signs to the village. Margaret said: “It’s something very special. We are the only one in Dorset.”

Having not had their own memorial to go to in the past, Margaret said residents have gone to other churches nearby to commemorate the wars and pay their respects. The plaque in Langton Herring will be dedicated and placed in a permanent position in St Peter’s Church on Sunday, August 3 at 2.30pm by the Archdeacon of Sherborne.

Margaret said residents were looking forward to the occasion.

She said: “We were given this plaque last year and wanted to make something of it. It’s the nearest Sunday to the start of the First World War. We are hoping we will raise some money with the collection for the British legion and that more people will take notice of this and honour those that worked so hard for us.”