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Memorial details

Memorial type
Garden
District
Chelmsford
Town
Chelmsford
County
Essex
Country
England
Commemoration
Second World War - civilians
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
45590

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Current location

Chelmsford Cemetery and Crematorium
Writtle Road
Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 3RW
England

OS Grid Ref: TL 69752 05684
Denomination: Undefined

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Description
A garden of remembrance within a low wall containing a rectangular stone placed over a mass grave for 18 employees. The stone contains a dedication both to those 18 employees buried within the garden and also to those 18 employees buried elsewhere as a result of a V2 rocket striking the factory directly in the early hours of 19/12/1944. At the rear of the garden there is also a bench containing the names of three of the 35 persons who were injured - the 3 names given the bench are Alfred George Crozier, Mary Hannah Crozier and Dennis Frank Crozier.
Inscription
Front of stone "THIS GARDEN IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF TWENTY-NINE/ EMPLOYEES OF THE HOFFMAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY LIMITED/ EIGHTEEN OF WHOM LIE IN THIS GRAVE, WHO WERE KILLED BY/ ENEMY ACTION ON THE 19TH DECEMBER 1944, AND TO THE/ MEMORY OF SEVEN EMPLOYEES WHO WERE KILLED BY ENEMY/ ACTION ON THE 19TH JULY 1942 AND 19TH OCTOBER 1942./ "AND THEY SHALL BE MINE SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS./ IN THAT DAY WHEN I MAKE UP MY JEWELS"/ MALACHI III 17/ IN COMMEMORATION OF THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO WERE KILLED BY ENEMY ACTION WHILE AT WORK, BUT WHOSE REMAINS DO NOT LIE WITHIN THIS GRAVE" Rear of stone "IN COMMEMORATION OF THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO WERE KILLED BY ENEMY/ ACTION WHILE AT WORK BUT WHOSE REMAINS DO NOT LIE WITHIN THIS GRAVE/ (names 11 from 19/12/1944, 4 from 19/7/1942 and 3 from 19/10/1942). There is also one stone dedicated to an unknown person who was killed in the V2 rocket attack.
Inscription legible?
no
Commemorations
  • Second World War - civilians
    Total names on memorial: 37
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 37
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Forenames, surname, date of death and age at death
    Order of information: Date of Death
Components
  • Stone of remembrance
    Measurements: height c 750 cm, width c 2000 cm
    Materials: Stone
Listing information
Condition
History
2001: SOME OF THE INSCRIPTION AND NAMES ON THE GRAVES ARE HARD TO READ 2019: The inscription is incised but not coloured and is becoming slightly weathered and partly obscured by lichen 2023: Some of the inscriptions are difficult to read and the condition of the stone is worsening.
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Reference

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-45590

For queries, please contact [email protected].