Sue and I are always looking for interesting places to go to so that I can exercise and improve my mobility and stamina. Recently, we went about half a mile from our house to part of Plumstead Common to see a local war memorial dedicated to the 8th (City of London) Howitzer Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery.
The unit was formed in 1908, although its origins go back to the 1860s. It comprised 21st County of London (Howitzer) Battery, 22nd County of London (Howitzer) Battery, and VIII London (Howitzer) Brigade Ammunition Column and was headquartered at 'Oaklands', St Margaret's Road (now St Margaret's Grove), Plumstead, and had access to the Drill Hall in Bloomfield Road.
It was armed with a total of eight horse-drawn 5-inch howitzers and formed part of 2nd London Division of the Territorial Force.
The unit was mobilised at the outbreak of the Great War and in October 1914 it was deployed to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). It took part in the Battles of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, Loos, and the Somme. After the end of the war the unit was reconstituted as the 65th (8th London) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (still mainly based in Plumstead, with one battery in Eltham) and became 65th (8th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery in November 1938.
The unit’s memorial …
… was erected after the Great War. On its back it has a swastika engraved towards the top of the memorial …
… and it is important to note that there is nothing sinister about this as it was the unit’s sign during the Great War. (The swastika used is the reverse of the one used by the Nazi Party and has its origins in ancient Indian culture.)
Nice bit of history Bob, very interesting, memorials are always an interest to me and always worth investigating the history of.
ReplyDeleteDonnie McGibbon,
DeleteThe area around Woolwich has loads of different memorials, and one day I hope to visit and blog about each of them.
There should be a Blue Plaque on the building where General Charles Gordon was born ... but the local council demolished it in the 1970s to make way for the building of a large social housing project, the Woolwich Common Estate.
All the best,
Bob