War Memorials

Lest we forget
Jenner
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Jun 17, 2017 5:50 pm

Re: War Memorials

Postby Jenner » Sat Jan 27, 2018 4:47 pm

kiwi wrote:A memorial to Bermondsey men who fell during World War One, at 2 Old Jamaica Road, the site of the old military training centre, which is currently being converted into flats.
The grade-listed memorial details the names of 970 men who served in the 22nd Battalion of the Queen’s Regiment, which used to be housed in the old building. Most of the men were from the old Bermondsey Borough.
“When the battalion left in 1915 it was almost exclusively Bermondsey men. This should be important to the community. We are honouring these men by coming together to show that even after the military training centre as gone, the importance of these men still remains.”
War Memorial.jpg

The drill hall, I knew it as. My parents met at a dance there! The WW1 soldiers who trained in it were territorials who often worked for Bevingtons, the leatherworks behind it. They were known as the 'Lilliput Lancers' because all ranks used to drink at the Lil' pub opposite.

kiwi
Posts: 4802
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2017 2:53 am

Re: War Memorials

Postby kiwi » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:53 am

Hi Jenner, welcome to the site and thank you for the information and the memory of your parents meeting. Pictures are great, but it's the stories and memories that bring them to life.
Cheers Kiwi. :)

big.makk
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 4:45 pm
Location: Lancashire UK

Re: War Memorials

Postby big.makk » Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:39 pm

I am conducting research into the loss of a Lancaster bomber in 1945 near Leipzig, (East) Germany and all it's crew of seven were killed in action on a mission to destroy a synthetic oil factory. Have so far traced five sets of modern day relatives of the crew and am now looking for the sixth.
Arthur William SNELLING was born 1922 in Canada, but the family returned to Bermondsey, 112 Snowfields, not that long afterwards.
The family, Frederick b. 1896 and Mary Ann (Ragan) b. 1896, with elder brothers Frederick John b. 1916, and Alfred b. 1919, later lived at various houses in Alice Street, Vine Lane and Tooley Street, Bermondsey. I believe Mary Ann died in Southwark in 1968 but haven't found anything so far about Frederick.
Arthur's brother Frederick John married Margaret E. Langton in 1938 and I believe they had a son Frederick Henry b. 1938. He possibly died in the Inville Road area in 2019 but have been unable to trace any further information about him.
I am basically after any information about the family, particularly if there are any surviving relatives, and more so any information to construct an obituary of Arthur William, along with a possible photograph. We have some photo's of the crew but are not yet sure of all their identities.
Also are there any war memorials in the Bermondsey area that may have his name inscribed upon it?
Has anyone done any research of WW2 casualties from the Bermondsey area?
I believe that his elder brother served with the R.A.O.C. in WW2 and was captured in Singapore in 1941. He was interred in Changhi jail, amongst other places, but did survive the war to come home to his family, presumably in the Bermondsey area.
Many thanks in advance
Stewart McLoughlin
Preston Branch-Lancashire Family History Society

ducati dad
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2021 10:15 pm

Re: War Memorials

Postby ducati dad » Wed Jul 14, 2021 11:34 pm

kiwi wrote:Donald Hunter – who served as radio officer on three Norwegian merchant ships carrying dangerous cargoes to allied forces – at the memorial outside the Norwegian Church, Rotherhithe 1914-1918. Be nice if someone could tell us a little bit more about Mr Hunter.
Donald Hunter- who served as a radio officer on three Norwegian Merchant Ships 1914-1918..jpg


Have a read...
https://www.nautilusfederation.org/en/n ... -75-years/

kiwi
Posts: 4802
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2017 2:53 am

Re: War Memorials

Postby kiwi » Thu Jul 15, 2021 11:10 am

ducati dad wrote:
kiwi wrote:Donald Hunter – who served as radio officer on three Norwegian merchant ships carrying dangerous cargoes to allied forces – at the memorial outside the Norwegian Church, Rotherhithe 1914-1918. Be nice if someone could tell us a little bit more about Mr Hunter.
Donald Hunter- who served as a radio officer on three Norwegian Merchant Ships 1914-1918..jpg

Found this...
https://www.nautilusfederation.org/en/n ... -75-years/


Hi ducati dad, thank you for the brilliant information and web site,regarding Mr Hunter,as it says never-too-late-to-say-thank-you.
LEST WE FORGET.jpg

ducati dad
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2021 10:15 pm

Re: War Memorials

Postby ducati dad » Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:39 pm

Sorry about the multiple posts, I don't know what happened there... :?

Shandalone
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2022 2:40 pm

Re: War Memorials

Postby Shandalone » Sat Aug 27, 2022 3:43 pm

Hello Kiwi,

Can I just correct a couple of points regarding the West Lane War Memorial and the Boer War Memorial in St James's Church, of which I raised funds to have both restored, and in the case of the Bermondsey Boer War Memorial and with the kind assistance of the St James's PCC had installed in St James' Church.

The Bermondsey and Rotherhithe War Memorial at West Lane was in deed part of the Mayor of Bermondsey's initiative to raise E100,000. The Bermondsey and Rotherhithe War Memorial Fund commenced on 12th March 1919 at a meeting of the Bermondsey Borough Council. The idea include a Bermondsey War Memorial Children's Ward at Guy's Hospital, and which was completed and opened by Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Helena Victoria, on 7th February 1923, with the unveiling of a memorial tablet. There was also to be playing fields and orphanages, but they never came to fruition, and the £100.000 was never fully raised. It is true that Arthur Carr, owner of Peek Frean did contribute the most to the fund, and indeed Mr Carr spoke at the War Memorial's unveiling on 8th October 1921, as well as attending the opening of the Children's Ward. Just as an aside, Peek Frean also had their own memorial in the grounds of the factory, but seems to have well and truly disappeared (there are photos in the Peek Frean Museum), along with a model of the B & R War Memorial that was presented to Southwark Council by Peek Frean & Co. back in 1971 (and which is mentioned in the Peek Frean staff magazine), however Southwark seem to have "misplaced" it when I made enquiries. The War Memorial itself was unveiled by Mrs Hetty Speer, who lived in Crimscott Road, and as you mentioned lost three son's in the Great War. The Memorial Fund sent a page to everyone they knew had lost a father, uncle, son or brother the war. Those pages were collated and bound into a book that's kept at the Local Studies Library in the Borough, and called "Bermondsey and Rotherhithe The European War". A few years ago I read through this as part of my research into the B & R War Memorial, you'll find the pages completed by Mrs Speer. along with the Rev Scott Lidgett, and even from the distance of a century, you can feel the raw emption poured into its pages.

Last year (2021) on 8th October at precisely 3:00pm, we held a Centenary Service, (100 years to the day and minute) in the presence of the Mayor of Southwark, who wore the Bermondsey Mayoral Chain (that was worn at the original unveiling), and Neil Coyle MP. The Service followed that of the original, with Fergus Carr, the great grandson of Arthur Carr, reading the words said by Arthur, and the the Memorial being unveiled by Mrs Jane Radford, a descendent of Mrs Speer, by pulling a union flag to one side, just as Mrs Speer did a century before.

With regards to the Bermondsey Boer War Memorial, some of the names that appear on the memorial weren't killed, they were men fought in the war, and some were even in attendance when Gen Sir Redvers Buller VC unveiled the memorial at Bermondsey Town Hall. The unveiling was reported in the Southwark Recorder, and the photograph of the complete Memorial was found in that edition by the wonderful and much missed Stephen Humphrey, who once told me that his grandfather had served under Gen Buller, and who (when Stephen was a boy) had a dog called Buller! Although funds were raised to completely restore the memorial (putting back replicas of the broken arch and Bermondsey Coat of Arms, the C of E didn't want this as they felt that future residents may think that the memorial is all original, that's why there's a framed copy of the Southwark Recorder photograph next to it. The Memorial was restored and letters re pained by DBR in Dulwich, with funds from Southwark Council's Cleaner, Greener, Safer Fund.

As a postscript, the Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Branch of the Royal British Legion, hold a Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday at the B & R War Memorial each year (Covid allowing) at 11:00am, and everyone is most welcome.

Apologies for a rather long first post.

kiwi
Posts: 4802
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2017 2:53 am

Re: War Memorials

Postby kiwi » Mon Aug 29, 2022 10:19 am

Shandalone wrote:Hello Kiwi,

Can I just correct a couple of points regarding the West Lane War Memorial and the Boer War Memorial in St James's Church, of which I raised funds to have both restored, and in the case of the Bermondsey Boer War Memorial and with the kind assistance of the St James's PCC had installed in St James' Church.

The Bermondsey and Rotherhithe War Memorial at West Lane was in deed part of the Mayor of Bermondsey's initiative to raise E100,000. The Bermondsey and Rotherhithe War Memorial Fund commenced on 12th March 1919 at a meeting of the Bermondsey Borough Council. The idea include a Bermondsey War Memorial Children's Ward at Guy's Hospital, and which was completed and opened by Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Helena Victoria, on 7th February 1923, with the unveiling of a memorial tablet. There was also to be playing fields and orphanages, but they never came to fruition, and the £100.000 was never fully raised. It is true that Arthur Carr, owner of Peek Frean did contribute the most to the fund, and indeed Mr Carr spoke at the War Memorial's unveiling on 8th October 1921, as well as attending the opening of the Children's Ward. Just as an aside, Peek Frean also had their own memorial in the grounds of the factory, but seems to have well and truly disappeared (there are photos in the Peek Frean Museum), along with a model of the B & R War Memorial that was presented to Southwark Council by Peek Frean & Co. back in 1971 (and which is mentioned in the Peek Frean staff magazine), however Southwark seem to have "misplaced" it when I made enquiries. The War Memorial itself was unveiled by Mrs Hetty Speer, who lived in Crimscott Road, and as you mentioned lost three son's in the Great War. The Memorial Fund sent a page to everyone they knew had lost a father, uncle, son or brother the war. Those pages were collated and bound into a book that's kept at the Local Studies Library in the Borough, and called "Bermondsey and Rotherhithe The European War". A few years ago I read through this as part of my research into the B & R War Memorial, you'll find the pages completed by Mrs Speer. along with the Rev Scott Lidgett, and even from the distance of a century, you can feel the raw emption poured into its pages.

Last year (2021) on 8th October at precisely 3:00pm, we held a Centenary Service, (100 years to the day and minute) in the presence of the Mayor of Southwark, who wore the Bermondsey Mayoral Chain (that was worn at the original unveiling), and Neil Coyle MP. The Service followed that of the original, with Fergus Carr, the great grandson of Arthur Carr, reading the words said by Arthur, and the the Memorial being unveiled by Mrs Jane Radford, a descendent of Mrs Speer, by pulling a union flag to one side, just as Mrs Speer did a century before.

With regards to the Bermondsey Boer War Memorial, some of the names that appear on the memorial weren't killed, they were men fought in the war, and some were even in attendance when Gen Sir Redvers Buller VC unveiled the memorial at Bermondsey Town Hall. The unveiling was reported in the Southwark Recorder, and the photograph of the complete Memorial was found in that edition by the wonderful and much missed Stephen Humphrey, who once told me that his grandfather had served under Gen Buller, and who (when Stephen was a boy) had a dog called Buller! Although funds were raised to completely restore the memorial (putting back replicas of the broken arch and Bermondsey Coat of Arms, the C of E didn't want this as they felt that future residents may think that the memorial is all original, that's why there's a framed copy of the Southwark Recorder photograph next to it. The Memorial was restored and letters re pained by DBR in Dulwich, with funds from Southwark Council's Cleaner, Greener, Safer Fund.

As a postscript, the Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Branch of the Royal British Legion, hold a Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday at the B & R War Memorial each year (Covid allowing) at 11:00am, and everyone is most welcome.

Apologies for a rather long first post.


Hi Shandalone, welcome to the site and your smashing post, no need to apologies for it being too long. Thank you for your time and effort, in pointing out a few things that were incorrect.
I/we do get posts wrong at times, (mainly me) so it is good when members like yourself notice and point it out.
On a personnel note, a word of thanks to you and all those other people who give their time to keep the memory of all members of the armed forces, whatever conflict, or situation they found themselves in so that we can live like we do today.
LEST WE FORGET.jpg


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