The Colours and Standards

On the west wall of the Church and above the North and South Doors are hung a number of Colours and standards, in particular from the 4th Battalion, The Queen’s Royal Regiment (Territorial Army). This was created on formation of the Territorial Force in 1909 and based in Croydon at the old barracks in Mitcham Road. It was the first Territorial unit granted permission to carry Colours, which were presented by Field Marshal Earl Roberts at Duppas Hill, Croydon, on 10 July 1910. New Colours were presented by Her Majesty Queen Mary, Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, at Whitgift School, Croydon, on 7 May 1938, and the old Colours laid up in Croydon Parish Church on Sunday 9 October 1938 in a special service, with a crowd of over 500 in the churchyard in addition to those in the Church itself. 

The 4th Battalion was greatly expanded during the First World
War, with three battalions, the 1/4th Battalion, 2/4th Battalion and 3/4th Battalion, formed for service.

• The 1/4th was formed in Croydon in September 1914. It was posted to India as part of the Surrey Brigade in the Home Counties Division in October 1914 and remained there throughout the war, serving on the North West Frontier, and in the Third Afghan War in 1919. After returning to the UK it was disbanded in Croydon on 18th November 1919.
• The 2/4th was also formed in Croydon in September 1914. It saw more varied service than any of the other Queen’s TF battalions: in the Gallipoli Campaign, in Egypt, and in Palestine, all as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division. It was then sent back as reinforcements to the Western Front where it served in 34th Division under French command before taking part in the final advance to victory in November 1918. Its Colours were presented at Engelskirchen in Germany, by General Plumer, on 7 April 1919 and the Battalion was disbanded in Croydon on 18 November 1919.
• The 3/4th was formed at Windsor in April 1915. It was sent to the Western Front as reinforcements in August 1917, where it joined 21st Division and fought at Broodseinde and Cambrai. It was then broken up in February 1918 to provide drafts for other units as part of reorganisation of the British Expeditionary Force. It is not known if, or when, its colours were ever formally presented.

The Colours of these three Battalions were laid up in the Church during the service on 5 November 1922 dedicating the Memorial Screen. A commemorative plaque is mounted on the west wall south of the West Door.

More information can be found here: Colours of The 4th Battalion Queen’s Royal Regiment (queensroyalsurreys.org.uk)

Over the North Door is what is thought to be the standard of the 31st (Surrey) Battalion of the Mobile Defence Corps, which was based in Croydon. The Mobile Defence Corps was a short-lived Army Civil Defence unit made up of National Servicemen and volunteers, with 33 battalions spread throughout the United Kingdom. The Corps was created in 1955 but disbanded in 1959 as a consequence of the ending of National Service.

At the north end of the west wall are two standards of the Army Cadet Force unit linked to the 4th Battalion The Queen’s Royal Regiment. The Army Cadet Force is a national youth organisation sponsored by the British Army.

Its origins go back to 1860. During the Second World War they supported the Home Guard.

14 Company South West London ACF is based in and around the Croydon area, with four detachments in Croydon, of which 143 Cadet Detachment in Shirley is affiliated to the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, successor to the Queen’s Royal Regiment.

Just to the north of the Memorial Screen are a King’s Colour and Regimental Colour of the 4th Battalion, The Queen’s Royal (West Surrey) Regiment, together with the standard of the Croydon Branch of the Royal Marines association, and the standard of the East Surrey Branch of the Dunkirk Veterans Association.  

The Royal Marines Association was established in early 1946 to support Marines being ‘demobbed’ after the Second World War, look after those in need, and keep the serving and retired community in touch with one another. Its standard is a Blue Ensign (a dark blue field with the Union Flag in the canton) defaced with the badge of the Royal Marines and the name of the Association above and the Branch below. The standard of the Croydon branch was dedicated in 1956. When the Branch disbanded its standard was laid up in the Church.

The 1940 Dunkirk Veterans’ Association was an association of British veterans “who served at Dunkirk and other ports of evacuation between 10 May and June 1940” – that is in the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940, including those who were taken prisoner. The association was formed in

Leeds in 1953 to foster the spirit of comradeship and support experienced during the evacuation and support fellow veterans who had fallen on hard times. At its height it had over 165,000 members, with over 100 branches in the UK and around 60 overseas. It formally disbanded in June 2000 on the 60th anniversary of the evacuation. The Memorial Garden south of the Church contains a tree presented by the East Surrey branch of the Dunkirk Veterans Association.

Next to the west window in the south aisle are the standards of the former 16th Croydon Scouts, Girl Guides and Cub Scouts units, all of which used to meet in the Church Hall but are now disbanded. Scouting, or the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth social movement for children and young people employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking, and sports.

The Scouts and Girl Guides were formed in 1907 and 1910 respectively by Sir Robert Baden-Powell. There have been Scout Groups in Croydon since 1908.   

Over the South Door is a pole with the last remains of what is thought to be either a King’s Colour of the 4th Battalion, The Queen’s Royal (West Surrey) Regiment or the Royal British Legion standard originally displayed at the Civic memorial by the Town Hall.