Tag: Cheam

Cheam: WWI & WWII War Memorial! (12.9.2023)

The memorial was unveiled on 16 March 1921 by Admiral Sir Arthur Henry Limpus KCMG, CB and dedicated by the Archdeacon of Kingston, Robert Charles Joynt.The carving and erection were carried out by a local mason Mr Snook of nearby Worcester Park. Among the dead commemorated on the memorial was Flight-Commander F A Brock (son of Brock of Brocks fireworks manufacturers) who invented the smoke screen. Following the Second World War, three names of those who lost their lives in that war were also added.

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Sutton: George V “GR” Postbox (c. 1910) – Corner of St Dunstan’s Hill & Westfield Road! (6.8.2023)

However, some Postboxes are always permitted to keep the designation of older (Constitutional) Monarchs. Within the grounds of Windsor Castle, for instance, we have observed a Postbox dedicated to King Edward VII (reigned 1901-1910) – with another Postbox in Oxford dedicated to King Edward VIII (who only ruled for the single year ‘1936’ – before being replaced after his ‘Abdication’ by King George III). Perhaps the above Postbox was constructed as early as 1910 – meaning it is currently 113-years old! Without knowing it, when this Postbox turned ‘100’ in 2010 – my family lived right next door to it!

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Battersea Park: The Central Bandstand! (27.5.2023)

The River Wandle flows for around 9 miles – and originates in the Waddon Ponds and Carshalton Ponds area – a boundary area spanning East Surrey and Southwest Greater London (the London Borough of Sutton and Cheam). The River Wandle enters the right-bank of the River Thames in the vicinity now called ‘Wandsworth’. Both the river (and the place) are probably named after a mighty Saxon Warlord named ‘Waendel’ whose clan dominated a large swathe of Southern and Eastern England! Indeed, so powerful was this man’s reputation that his name came to dominate an entire British river! 

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Sutton: Our Red Flag of Freedom Out and About! (14.5.2023)

Thousands of these flags were issued to the Soviet Red Army as the Offensive upon Berlin was initiated – with each flag carrying a unique production number! This was used to trace ‘where’ and ‘when particular Soviet Red Army Units penetrated into Nazi German controlled territory! The last of the elite SS Regiments (mostly comprised of Scandinavian ‘Volunteers’) put up the most stringent of fanatical resistance – hell-bent upon proving Hitler’s theory about ‘race’ (which Hitler used to replace the theory of ‘class’ as perpetuated by Marx and Engels) was right! Of course, like Hitler himself, this theory failed miserably and the Soviet Red Army eventually triumphed over the dark forces of World Fascism!

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Henry VIII: St Alban’s the Martyr Church (Cheam) – Constructed from a Nonsuch Royal Stable! (14.5.2023)

The wood used for the roof (and support beams) dates to about 1550 CE – and was originally a very large royal stable used by King Henry VIII and I am told – his daughter – Queen Elizabeth I! It was dismantled from its original site (adjacent to Nonsuch Palace) by Shipwrights – and brought to what was once a remote area of Cheam – and reassembled (with added contemporary brickwork) to form a very large Church! The wood would have been part of a royal forest cultivated in the area – grown to make ships, buildings and other required ‘royal’ structures! Therefore, the wood itself will be far older than the 1550 CE date the barn is believed to have been originally constructed! The beams are held together entirely by wooden-pegs – just as they were originally designned to be – with no ‘modern’ nails or connecting materials! Indeed, Shipwrights reconstructed this building as if they were building a wooden ship!

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