He hadn’t wanted it to end this way, this soon. He had looked forward to inheriting Langley Hall and the title someday, enjoying the status in the neighbourhood as the squire, Sir Hugo Langley.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1)

Importance: Thinking that he was going to die after the bomber he was flying was shot down by German fire, Hugo thought of what he would miss if he died so young. He was particularly saddened that he would never have the chance to inherit Langley Hall or have the honor of being a squire.

Similar stories over and over, until I realised that everyone present resented the loss of the Hall as much as my father had done. It represented the passing of an old way of life, of the security of knowing one’s place.
-- Narrator (Chapter 7)

Importance: At Hugo’s funeral, Joanna realized that the people of their village were just as unhappy by the way...