Memorial details

Memorial type
Cross
District
Bromley
Town
West Wickham
County
Greater London
Country
England
Commemoration
Second World War - civilians
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: 5th April 1942
    Attended by: Alderman W J Sampson, Mayor of Beckenham
  • Rededicated
    Date: 25th October 1953
    Attended by: Rector of St John the Baptist the Rev John Hough
  • Unveiled
    Date: 25th October 1953
    Attended by: Alderman W J Sampson, Mayor of Beckenham
  • Dedicated
    Date: 5th April 1942
    Attended by: Rev Shaw Page
  • Show More (3)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
3855

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Current location

St John the Baptist Church
Layhams Road
West Wickham
Bromley
Greater London
BR4 9HJ
England

OS Grid Ref: TQ 38944 64839
Denomination: Baptist

View location on Google Maps
Description
Wooden cross with a cover, on an octagonal stone plinth. On the front there are three vases with names.
Inscription
IN FREEDOMS CAUSE/ SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF/ FIVE GALLANT MEMBERS OF THE/ BECKENHAM AUXILIARY FIRE SERVICE/ KILLED BY ENEMY ACTION WHILST ON DUTY/ 19 MARCH 1941/ (Names)/ AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Drew, C W M
Fitzgerald, D G
Moore, F W
Palmer, L J
Short, S
See details for all 5 names
Commemorations
  • Second World War - civilians
    Total names on memorial: 5
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 5
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Surname, date of death, manner of death, occupation
    Order of information: Alphabetically by surname
Components
  • Cross
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Wood
  • Plinth
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Stone
  • Vase
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Stone
Listing information
Condition
History
1953: original memorial which was a wooden cross on a brick plinth was replaced by the current one. Plans for this change were made in June 1947, but with the shortage of money and materials post war, the new memorial was only in place in October 1953. And this was possible only because the original was badly damaged by a falling tree.
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Reference
  • BROMLEY WAR MEMORIALS VOLUME ONE by RASON, PAUL 145-150 Source: Image Library NIWM Published:LONDON BOROUGH OF BROMLEY NOV 1999 BROMLEY
  • Illustrated London News - Saturday 03 May 1941 AUXILIARY FIRE SERVICE, KILLED WHILE ON DUTY DURING A RAID. FUNERAL OF MEMBERS OF THE BECKENHAM A.F.S. (photographs of the funeral)

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.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:

© WMR-3855

For queries, please contact [email protected].