Memorial details

Memorial type
Board / Plaque / Tablet
District
Uttlesford
Town
Birchanger
County
Essex
Country
England
Commemoration
Boer War; Second (1899-1902)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
22844

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Current location

On the south wall
St Mary the Virgin Church
Birchanger Lane
Birchanger
Uttlesford
Essex
CM23 5QA
England

OS Grid Ref: TL 50730 22779
Denomination: Church of England

View location on Google Maps
Description
Nowy-headed rectangular brass plaque with engraved border of stylised leaves, fixed to a rectangular pink marble backboard. On the left side of the plaque is an etched image of the deceased in uniform, standing in front of a machine-gun. At top-centre of the plaque is the etched crest of the Honourable Artillery Company, flanked by the first line of the inscription, which is in incised lettering.
Inscription
IN LOVING MEMORY OF/ JACK SOUTHARD WATNEY, H.A.C./ LIEUT. XI BATT: I.Y MACHINE GUN COMMANDER/ WHO, HEADING A CHARGE, WAS KILLED AND BURIED/ AT TWEEFONTEIN SOUTH AFRICA/ 25TH DECEMBER (XMAS DAY) 1901 AGED 19/ "Be thou faithful unto death and I will/ give thee a crown of life" REV. 11. 10/ ERECTED BY RELATIVES OF THIS PARISH, TO WHOM HE WAS NEAR AND DEAR
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Watney, Jack Southard
See details
Commemorations
  • Boer War; Second (1899-1902)
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Forenames, surname, Regiment, rank, Battery, manner of death, place of death/burial, date of death, age, additional
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Plaque
    Measurements: depth 4mm, height 680mm, width 910mm
    Materials: Brass
  • Backboard
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Marble - Pink
Listing information
Condition
History
2016: The memorial fell from the wall while the Church was empty; the incident is believed to have been caused by a fault in the marble backplate having fractured.// St Mary's Church was Grade II* listed on 21/2/1967, see https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1322445
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Sponsorship
Private
Responsibility
Church of England
Reference
  • For Remembrance and in Honour of Those Who Lost Their Lives in the South African War 1899-1902 by James Gildea, Published by Eyre and Spottiswoode in 1911, London
  • There is also a memorial stone commemorating Lieutenant Watney in the churchyard, which his grandparents erected - see our record www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/97085
  • The War Memorials Trust's record of this plaque can be found at www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/283258
  • Cambridge Independent Press 10/1/1902 reported: 'SAFFRON WALDEN. Memorial. Service.—On Saturday evening a service was held in Birchanger Parish Church, in memory of the late Lieut J. S. Watney, of the 11th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, who was killed on Christmas Day leading his men to repel the attack of De Wet at Tweefontein. Lieut. Watney, who was only 19 and well known in the neighbourhood of Bishop Stortford, was a son of the late Mr. Ernest Watney and Mrs. Hattie Gilbey Watney, of Clanricarde Gardens, and consequently grandson of Mr. Charles Gold, of the Limes, Birchanger, formerly M.P. for the Saffron; Walden Division, and grand-nephew of Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. The unfortunate young officer was educated at Eton, and joined the Honourable Artillery Company in 1899, going out with a draft from the Company in February, 1901. At the time of his death he was in command of the Maxim gun detachment, having been appointed Machine Gun Commander in June. The service was largely attended by residents in Bishop Stortford, Stansted, and Birchanger, and was of solemn and touching nature. The Rector (the Rev. W. H. Cain) conducted the service'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000418/19020110/028/0005
  • Birchanger Magazine December 2016, Issue 167, page 8: 'Finally, a few weeks ago the Watney Memorial fell from the wall where it had hung for 100 years. It appears that there may have been a fault in the marble back plate and over time, a stress fracture gave way. Fortunately, no one was in Church at the time. We are working with insurers to effect repair'. birchanger.com/Magazine/2016/Mag-2016-12-Print.pdf
  • A colour photo of the plaque, taken in May 2010, can be found at stepneyrobarts.blogspot.com/2010/05/birchanger-essex.html
  • Birchanger website archive.birchanger.com/archive-Church.html has a monochrome image of the plaque and records the following information: 'A modern BRASS on the South wall is interesting as being the first brass to depict a soldier in modern khaki uniform. It is to Jack Watney, a lad of 19 who fell in South Africa in 1901. Recently some interest has been shown in this memorial and research has brought to light the circumstances of Jack Watney's death'. (That webpage also gives the following information re Lieutenant Watney: 'He was buried near the battlefield, but his remains were moved to Harrismith cemetery in 1958-1959').
  • The Kings England, Essex, by Arthur Mee (published 1951); ASIN : B004K2SB7I; Birchanger (re St Mary's Church): 'The chancel is a century younger, with four small lancet windows. We come in through one of the Norman doorways to see a 15th century font, seven benches as old, and a modern brass, interesting as being one of the first pictures of a soldier's khaki uniform on a memorial. It is to Jack Watney, a lad of 19 who fell in South Africa in 1901, and shows a figure in khaki in front of a machine-gun'.... 'The interesting brass mentioned by Mee is to Lt Jack Southard Watney. He was killed in action at Tweefontein, in De Wet's attack on Christmas morning, 1901. He was the eldest son of Mrs Hattie Gilbey Watney of 24 Clanricarde Gardens, and of Ernest Watney. He was born in March 1882, and educated at St Paul's School and at Eton. He volunteered for active service in South Africa, and first served in the ranks of the Imperial Yeomanry. He was quickly promoted sergeant, and appointed to the 11th Battalion in June 1901, as machine gun commander, with the rank of Lieutenant in the army. In the action in which he fell he was in command of a maxim gun, and reported by Lord Kitchener to have been killed "while heading a charge". He died with all the men of his gun section around him either killed or wounded. Lieutenant Watney was buried at Tweefontein, and his name was inscribed on an obelisk, which has been erected there in memory of all those who fell in this action. He was buried near the battlefield but his remains were moved to Harrismith cemetery in 1958/9'.

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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