Abingdon GeoCache Series 

After our recently placed GeoCache Series at Great Western Park, Didcot, we decide to place a few more caches in other parts of Didcot and surrounding villages, in order to honour local heros, and to reflect our rich local history, stories and heritage. We hope you will enjoy these new caches and may also learn something new when you are caching, thank you!

All our placed caches can be viewed at this public bookmark list: https://coord.info/BMFEC4E

Abingdon #231 - Abingdon War Memorial (Officially Known as War Memorial #2583 ~ Abingdon)

The Abingdon-on-Thames War Memorial is a prominent Grade II listed monument located in The Square at the junction of High Street, Bath Street, and Ock Street in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

1. History and Design

• Unveiling: Erected in 1921, it was unveiled by the Earl of Abingdon and funded entirely via public subscription.
• Architect: Designed by JGT West and constructed by local builder Dennis Godfrey using Portland stone, Blue Pennant stone, and bronze.
• Features: It stands as a tall rectangular pylon on a stepped base. The front face features an inset bronze relief panel depicting a mourning soldier.
• Commemorations: The monument originally honored 228 local servicemen killed in the First World War. It was later updated to record 55 names from World War II and one soldier killed during the Troubles in Northern Ireland (1981).

2. Structural Rescue (The Leaning Monument)

The memorial was historically nicknamed "Abingdon's answer to Pisa". For decades, it developed a noticeable lean, shifting a few millimetres every year due to weak underground soil. To prevent it from falling over, the Abingdon on Thames Town Council undertook an engineering project in December 2010. Workers stabilized the foundation by injecting an expanding, solidifying resin material into the ground, successfully correcting the tilt.

3. Modern Role and Local Events

• Remembrance Sunday: The landmark serves as the focal point for the town's annual Remembrance Day services, hosting large civic parades, military personnel from Dalton Barracks, and local wreath-laying ceremonies.
• Community Gatherings: The square surrounding the monument was completely repaved and fitted with trees and benches, transforming it into a central town meeting point. It frequently hosts local peace campaigners and historic talks.

This cache is placed to mark the 12th War Memorial Day (1 July 2026). More details can be found at: https://warmemorialseries.co.uk/badges/day/2026.php

About this Multi-cache

Please note, this war memorial is close to busy roads, so please be very careful when visiting it, especially when visiting with Geokids and/or GeoPets. Please take extra care when crossing the busy road. You will be visiting this war memorail at your own risk.

Today (5 June 2026) is also the 1st anniversary of our first-ever hidden cache GCB8C7T, so the current cache is also a special cache celebrating this anniversary.

At the published coordinates, you will be standing in front of the war memorial. Firstly please find one side which has a bronze relief of a soldier. Under the soldier there are several lines of words. How many letters are there in the last word on the second line? Let it be A.

Now please walk around and find another side with a cross (with green background) on the top, and this side also has soldiers from the Army at its bottom. On the same surface as the cross, how many soldiers have a surname which begins with "A"? Let it be B. And how many soldiers have a surname which begins with "W"? Let it be C.

On the same above side but on a different and lower surface, there are more soldiers' names. How many soldiers came from the Royal Navy on this surface? Let it be D. And please find a soldier who came from RAF and has a surname beginning with "G". The number of letters in their surname is E.

Finally, please move to a side which has "ABINGDONIANS" on its top. On this surface the total number of soliders who have the surname "BAKER" is F. And the total number of soliders who have the surname "GILES" is G. 

On the same above side, there is a lower surface with a few lines of words. The number of letters in the first Latin word on the bottom line is H.

The final coordinates are some distance away at:

N51 ( A - B )  ( A - C )  .  ( D - A - 1 )  ( G + H )  ( E - F )

W001 ( A / C )  ( B + G )  .  ( A - F )  ( F + G )  ( B + F + H )

The checksum of all the digits in the final coordinates is 51.

Please also note: 

Please bring your own pen, and open & close the cache lid carefully so the cache and log book can survive longer. You might need a tweezer to help retrieve the log paper.

Please also replace exactly as found due to obvious reason, and please be careful with the possible thorns, stinging nettles, and overhead tree branches! Long sleeves, trousers, and gloves are recommended.

Thank you and enjoy GeoCaching!

FTF: Congratulations to Oxford Stone for their FTF on 6 June 2026.