Memorial details

Memorial type
Cross
District
Southwark
Town
Camberwell
County
Greater London
Country
England
Commemoration
First World War (1914-1918)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
12078

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Current location

London Irish Rifles' HQ (outside)
Connaught House
Flodden Road
Camberwell
Southwark
Greater London
SE5 9LL
England

OS Grid Ref: TQ 31998 76919
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Previous locations
  • On the south side of brick screen to the main portico in the centre of middle "blind" arch.
    Duke of York's HQ
    Kings Road
    Chelsea
    Kensington And Chelsea
    Greater London
    SW1 4RY
    England

    OS Grid Ref: TQ 270 770
    Denomination: Undefined
  • Eaucourt l'Abbaye
    France
    Outside British Isles

    OS Grid Ref: Undefined
    Denomination: Undefined
  • Show More (1)
Description
Wooden, pine cross. The cross is coated with red translucent preservative paint, with black plaques attached to the sides of the cross, which bear the inscription in gold lettering. The cross is mounted on an exterior wall, near a two-stepped stone base on which either it, or the adjacent identical cross commemorating another action in which the division was involved (see memorial record 12077), was originally mounted. A stone tablet is set into the wall above the stone base - into this is carved the same inscription as that on the cross. A plaque detailing the history of both crosses is mounted on the wall to the right - this may be a modern replacement for an original brass plaque, now lost.
Inscription
Cross: 47TH LONDON DIVISION/ IN GLORIOUS MEMORY OF THE/ GALLANT OFFICERS, N.C.O.S AND/ MEN WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN/ THE CAPTURE OF HIGHWOOD/ 15/ SEPT./ 1916. Stone tablet: TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY/ OF THE/ GALLANT OFFICERS, N.C.O.'S & MEN/ OF THE/ 47TH LONDON DIVISION/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THER CAPTURE OF HIGH WOOD/ 15TH SEPT 1916. Plaque: 47TH (LONDON) DIVISION WAR MEMORIAL/ This wooden cross and its counterpart on the south screen/ were originally erected in 1916 by Divisional Engineers on/ the Somme Battlefield to commemorate the 15,567 officers/ and men of the 47th (2nd London) Division Territorial Army/ who died in France and Flanders./ At the initiative of the Division and the County of London/ Territorial Association, the two crosses, which were/ falling into disrepair, were returned to the Duke of York's/ Headquarters in 1925. In their place in France, a stone/ cross was erected at High Wood and a children's playground/ built in the nearby village of Martinpuich to be "a/ memorial of utility rather than purely ornamental".
Inscription legible?
yes
Commemorations
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 0
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 0
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Undefined
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Cross
    Measurements: depth c80mm, height c4000mm, width c2700mm
    Materials: Wood - Pine
  • Plaque
    Measurements: depth c2mm, height c250mm, width c450mm
    Materials: Unknown
  • Tablet
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Stone
Listing information
Condition
History
Reconditioned and repainted (believed c2000). Restored upon transfer to England (1926).
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Responsibility
London Irish Rifles.

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

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© WMR-12078

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