Nottingham & Nottinghamshire

Victoria Cross

Committee

 

Christmas 2010.

 

 On 29th December, 2010, three members of our Committee made a trip to some of London's Crematoria and Cemeteries to visit the last resting places of a number of VC recipients, including that of James Upton VC, from Nottinghamshire.

 Each year, members of the Committee who are available (this year it was Pete, Tony, and Derek), draw up an itinerary to visit the last resting places of Victoria Cross recipients in various parts of the country. Last year we visited Brompton Cemetery. This year, we again chose N London & NW London, as set out below.

We always include a large number of places and graves to visit, as the trip tends to change due to weather or traffic. Below is the itinerary for the 2010 trip.

This link will take you to some photographs of the day.

 http://nottinghamshire-victoria-cross-memorial.org.uk/PhotoAlbums/album_1293119968/

 

1.   Hendon Park,  Holders Hill Road, Mill Hill, London, NW7 1NB

Drummer Dudley Stagpoole VC, DCM

Bombardier Issac Lodge VC

 

2.   Golders Green Crematorium, Hoop Lane, Barnet, LONDON NW11 7NL

 

Sir John Fenton Aylmer VC, KCB

 

The Hon. Edward Barry Stewart Bingham VC, OBE

 

Edward Douglas Brown-Singe-Hutchinson VC, CB

 

Sir Brett Cloutman VC, MC

 

Percy Thompson Dean VC

 

Viscount Alexander Edward Murray Fincastle VC, DSO, MVO

 

James Palmer Huffam VC

 

Leonard Maurice Keysor VC

 

Parkash Singh VC

 

Rt. Hon. Sir John George Smythe Bt, VC, MC

 

Arthur Percy Sullivan VC

 

William John Symons (Later Pen-Symonds) VC

 

James Upton VC

 

Thomas Cloclough Watson VC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main idea of visiting Golders Green was to enquire about having a memorial plaque erected to James Upton, VC., a Nottinghamshire Victoria Cross recipient. We sent a letter to the Crematorium informing them that we would be visiting on the 29^th December 2010, and querying if there would be someone available to talk to about this small project. We received a very nice reply from Catherine Price, the Manager, telling us what to see, and stating that they would be very pleased to see us.

 

On arrival, we were greeted by a Mr Eric Willis who gave us a private and very informative guided tour of the whole site, which lasted well over three hours. Eric had worked there since 2000, and it was quite clear that he is very passionate about his job. He carries a folder full of details about the famous interments of the site, along with a portfolio of photos, and the largest bunch of keys that we had ever seen!!

 

Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum, was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest in Britain. The crematorium is secular, in that it accepts all faiths and beliefs.

 Architects Sir Ernest George and Alfred Yeates designed the crematorium. It is a red brick building in Lombardi style, and opened in 1902. As money became available, more buildings were added in stages, and works finished around 1939.

 Since opening, more than 300,000 cremations have taken place here. The 12 acres of gardens were laid out by William Robinson, and are extensively planted. There are several large tombs, one of which was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens who is famous worldwide for his work which includes The Cenotaph, and a large number of WW1 Memorials, one being The Thiepval Memorial to the missing on the Somme, in France.

In the grounds there are two ponds, a bridge, and a large crocus lawn. During 2010, a further 90,000 crocuses were planted.

There are two Cremation Chapels and a Chapel of Remembrance. In addition, the site has three large columbaria containing the cremated remains of thousands of Londoners.

As well as the 14 Victoria Cross recipients cremated here, there are many other military personnel of all ranks from many countries.

 

 

 

3.   Margravine Cemetery, London

Colour Sergeant Peter Leitch VC

Troop Sergeant Major James Champion VC, MSM

 

During the Second World War the cemetery was bombed three times, in September and November 1940.

Both the above VC recipients lay in unmarked graves. It is not known whether the graves were originally marked but, during the late 1950’s, it was decided by the Local Council to clear a lot of the headstones and memorials. During this time, it would appear that a large number of headstones were buried to make a garden walkway which was completed by the mid 1960’s.

 

 

4.   Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium, Stag Lane, Putney Vale, London,  SW15 3DZ

 

Harry Norton Scholfield VC

Alfred Joseph Richards VC

Alfred Joseph Richards VC

Harry Greenwood VC, DSO & Bar, OBE, MC

Ernest Wright Alexander VC, CB, CMG

William Ewart Boulter VC

Reginald Fredrick Johnson Hayward VC, MC & Bar

 

 

 

 

Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium is located within forty-seven acres of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891, and the crematorium in 1938.

The cemetery has two chapels, one being a traditional Church of England chapel, and the other being used for multi-denominational or non-religious services. It has a large Garden of Remembrance, and cremated remains are scattered throughout the grounds of the cemetery.

A Memorial Wall has been erected to record the names of those whose graves are not marked by a headstone. Those who have been cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium also have their names recorded on these panels.

In the cemetery, there are 87 Commonwealth burials from World War I, and 97 from World War II.

 Six Victoria Cross recipients, three buried and three cremated, have been laid to rest here, along with a large number of notable people including, singer songwriter Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention fame, Kenneth Moore, Daniel Massey, Arthur Askey, Stanley Baker, Hattie Jacques and, Nyree Dawn Porter, OBE.

 

 

5.   Lambeth Cemetery, Blackshaw Road, LONDON, SW17 0BY (Not visited due to time)

Robert Kells VC, RVM

David Spence VC