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Following the outbreak of the war, Mr. and Mrs. Norman McCorquodale turned ‘The Elms’ into a house for Belgian refugees, with a committee of ladies formed to provide furniture etc.

Many being brought from the north of England, after war was declared Winslow became a major depot for horses, which were dispersed on farms in the immediate area. By the end of November 1914 1,400 had been sent to the war, and in mid 1915 there were some 4,000 in the district. (As for cows, one Friday in July 1915 a valuable specimen, the property of Mr. George Robinson, of the Swan Inn, Winslow, would be killed by lightning whilst sheltering under a tree.)

Born in Winslow, Charles had been farming in Australia before the war broke out, and on his passage to England he saw two ships torpedoed. Having joined the Royal Flying Corps, he had been in France for about three months.
On the evening of Thursday, July 24th 1917 there was a large congregation at the Parish Church, this being for the dedication of a Shrine bearing the names of parishioners who had served their country during the war, and for those who had fallen. The vicar, the Reverend H. Denny, conducted the service, with the Bishop of Buckingham giving a short address, in which he asked the congregation to pray for those on service and for those who had made the great sacrifice. Headed by the Volunteer Defence Corps, a procession wended through the churchyard into the High Street, where in the centre of the churchyard wall the solid dark oak shrine, given anonymously, had been erected. This was covered with a Union Jack and in the presence of a large number of spectators Mrs. F. Vaisey, the wife of Dr. Vaisey, performed the unveiling. The shrine consisted of a centre piece, carrying the names of 25 Winslow men who had fallen, and two wings, on which were about 248 names of those from the town who were on service. After the Bishop had dedicated the shrine the ceremony came to a close with the singing of a hymn.