War Memorials at the Minster

It was established in the Church through the dedication and drive of an ex-member of the 2/4th Battalion. Sergeant Harry Mann and his brother had served in the 2/4th Battalion through the First World War. In 1925 as a police officer, ‘Sergeant Harry’, as he was known, compiled a list of all members of the 2/4th Battalion. He became Secretary of their association, was awarded the MBE in 1976 for his work with, and for, his former colleagues, and he attended every annual memorial service until his death in May 1989.

It is likely that the then new Vicar of Croydon, Rev. William Patrick McCormick (“Rev. Pat”), took a keen interest in its creation. He had served as an Army chaplain during the War, was awarded a Distinguished Service Order (awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful command and leadership during active operations, usually in actual combat) and was mentioned in dispatches – a commendation for bravery – four times.

The screen itself has a wide central compartment forming the entrance, the head being filled with pierced tracery and carved work; and the compartments on either side have similar work in the heads with the lower part filled with solid panels.

On the Tower side of the Screen is the Royal Cipher of Charles II, who was King when the regiment was founded in 1661 – two ‘C’s intertwined within the ribbon of the Garter. Beneath are the Regimental mottos carved in raised letters: Pristinae Virtutis Memor (Mindful of the Valour of Former Days) and Vel Exuviae Triumphans (Even in Defeat Triumphant).

On the Church side of the Screen above the entrance is a panel containing the Paschal Lamb (the Regimental badge), carrying a pennant or small flag bearing a red cross on a white ground. This is thought to have been the badge of Queen Catherine of Braganza, the wife of Charles II, after whom the regiment was named. It gave the regiment at least two nicknames: Kirke’s Lambs – an ironic reference to its role in the harsh suppression of the Duke of Monmouth’s rebellion in 1685 under its then commanding officer Colonel Percy Kirke – and later The Mutton Lancers. The Paschal Lamb symbolises martyrdom and is associated with the sacrifice of Christ. Appropriately, it is also a symbol of Saint John the Baptist, to whom the Church is dedicated.  

At the top of the Screen in the centre is a plain cross, flanked by figures on moulded pedestals of the four Patron Saints of the nations of the United Kingdom – Saint George, Saint Andrew, Saint David and Saint Patrick (the whole of Ireland being part of the United Kingdom at the time of the First World War).  

The opening is flanked on either side with carved buttresses on which stand small figures of an officer and private of the Regiment in service kit. At first glance there is little to distinguish between them. This was deliberate as distinguishing rank badges  would mark out an officer and make them a target for enemy snipers. Consequently, the officer’s rank is indicated only by small ‘pips’ on his tunic epaulettes.

Both wear ‘Small Box Respirators’ – gas masks in a fitted canvas pack on their chests. These were introduced from 1916 after gas attacks had been made by both sides. Both are also wearing the standard ‘Brodie’ steel helmet named after its designer, John Leopold Brodie, first issued in late 1915 to protect troops from injuries caused by the shrapnel and shell splinters. And both have their lower legs wrapped in puttees – long strips of wound canvas that were supposed to support the lower legs and also give some protection against mud and water entering boots while still allowing the leg a degree of flexibility.

The main differences are in their trousers, with the private wearing a more fitted design; and in the weapons they carry. The private has a Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle while the officer wears a pistol on a lanyard around his neck kept in a holster on his left hip and carries a short swagger stick or cane.

The Memorial Box

On the west wall of the South Porch of the church is a further memorial to the men of the 4th Battalion of the Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment who died in the First World War.  

It comprises two wooden battens, with all the names of the fallen inscribed upon them, mounted either side of a wooden cross. The cross was rescued from the battlefield grave in France of one of the soldiers, Albert Ernest Luff, after the end of the First World War and brought back to England. It still has the original metal strip with Lance Corporal Luff’s name stamped on it, together with the date of his death: 6 September 1918.  

Albert (Bert) Luff, son of Charles (a farm labourer) and Alice Luff from Brockham in Surrey, enlisted in August 1914 aged 16, arrived in France in May 1915, and was injured in September when he was buried in a trench by an explosion. He went home on leave in November 1915, then returned to duty and was sent to Egypt where he stayed for two years, being wounded in March and December 1916. He returned to France around June 1918. In his last letter to his family dated 30 August 1918 he said he would be home on leave in five days; but he was shot by a sniper on 4 September and died in hospital in Boulogne on 6 September 1918. He is buried in Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, near Calais.  

The cross was presented by the 2/4th Queen’s Old Comrades Association and originally displayed in Queen’s House (the former army centre, off Roman Way) where it was unveiled by Edward Woods, Bishop of Croydon, on 29 March 1931. It was moved into the church from Queen’s House and dedicated by Charles Tonks, Vicar of Croydon, on 8 July 1951.

By Stephen Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0