Communal cross for the 22nd Royal Fusiliers (Kensingtons)

Location: St Mary Abbots Church Kensington, London W8 4LA.

Details on cross: 

Regimental logo

22 RF

In proud memory of our comrades

375. Sgt. A.T. Herbert

6974. Cpl. B. Gibson

19468. Cpl. J. W Senior

202. Cpl. W. J. Lingwood

1289. L/C Pearce

89. L/C A. E Walton

indecipherable 495. Sgt. R. Germin

51950. Pte. F.P. Woodward

Lieut. M. E. Wardley

47580. Pte. A. G. Bartlett

9455. Pte. E. Durber

24457. Pte. H. J. Moore

61547.  Pte. H.J Pratt

22241. Pte. E Arnell

14271. Pte. H. Bear

23657. Pte. J. Bannerman

43691. Pte. C. Forecast

K/1262 L/Sgt. A. Walder

PS6909. L/C J. A. Gallagher

5997. Pte. G. Batte

625564. Pte. C. Barnes

51962. Pte. Hicke

14334. Pte. Chesworth

16960. Pte. F Exeter

6436. Pte. J. Brown

50318. Pte. B.F. Turner

766. Pte. C. T. Crosby

Text type (e.g. hand-written, GRU tags, carved): Black paint

Cross dimensions (millimetres please) Unavailable

Other information
Mounting to wall: Mounted to a pillar

Detailing:  Some swirling on the arms of the Celtic cross

Condition (cracked, paint peeling, woodwork, damage etc):  Fairly good condition, some fading and illegibility.

Notes and observations:

Celtic type cross.

This is a communal cross for the 22nd Royal Fusiliers (Kensingtons), from Oppy Wood, near Arras.

There is a conservation report linked from:

http://www.dbrlimited.com/project/st-mary-abbots-church/

Which gives some background on the cross and the conservation treatments applied. The GRU tags seem to be on the reverse.

The cross is too high up to get measurements, but it is considerably larger than most of the other crosses that the surveyor had seen.

The memorial is registered here http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/47661

Some names vary between the original field cross and the memorial below.

Sgt R Germin becomes Sgt R Jerman

Pte F P Woodward becomes Pte Arthur Walter Woodward

Pte Hick becomes Pte Frederic Bishop Hicks

 

Underneath the cross mounted to a pillar is an engraved tablet bearing the following words:-

The battlefield cross commemorates men from the 22nd Kensington Battalion ‘The Royal Fusiliers” who fell in the battle of  OPPYWOOD 29 April – 3 May 1917

2nd LIEUT MILES EDWARD WARDLEY

SGT CHARLES FREDERICK HACKETT

SGT ALFRED THOMAS HERBERT

CPL BEN GIBSON

CPL JOHN WILLIAM SENIOR

CPL WILLIAM JOHN LINGWOOD

L/CPL JAMES ALOYSIOUS GALLAGHER

L/CPL GEORGE PEARCE

L/CPL ALBERT EDWARD WALTON

SGT RICHARD JERMAN

PTE GERALD BATTE

PTE CHARLES JAMES BARNES

PTE FREDERIC BISHOP HICKS

PTE ARTHUR CHESWORTH

PTE FRANCIS EDWARD EXTER

PTE JOHN BROWN

PTE BENJAMIN PAIN TURNER

PTE CECIL THOMAS CROSBY

PTE ARTHUR WALTER WOODWARD

PTE ARTHUR GEORGE BARTLETT

PTE ERNEST DURBER

PTE HORACE JOHN MOORE

PTE HENRY JAMES PRATT

PTE EDWARD ARNELL

PTE HARRY ARTHUR BEAR

PTE JAMES DONALD BANNERMAN

PTE CHARLES FORECAST

PTE ALBERT WALDER

In 1929 the cross was replaced by a permanent memorial and brought to England. It came to St Mary Abbots in 1949 and was conserved and rededicated in 2014 + LEST WE FORGET


Survey and photographs courtesy of Michael Day

Survey date 25/7/2017