What is the importance of Saint Gabriel's Church in the novel, War Brides?

Saint Gabriel's Church is the local parish of Crowmarsh Priors. It is overseen by Oliver Hammet. Old smugglers' tunnels are underneath the church's graveyard. Saint Gabriel's Church is a beautiful country place of worship, which becomes the gathering place for members of the town throughout the novel. The church is destroyed in a bombing raid during World War II, only to be rebuilt fifty years later, in time for the anniversary of VE Day.