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The original All Saints Church building destroyed in WW2
The new All Saints Church building opened in July 1957
After the First World War a "Roll of Honour" ( a memorial plaque) to the 80 men from the ‘church and parish’ of All Saints, Plumstead ‘who laid down their lives in the Great War’ was installed in the old All Saints Church which was on the corner of Cantwell Road and Ripon Road. A memorial stained-glass window and a memorial in the churchyard were also installed.
When the church was bombed in 1944 the plaque was damaged but recovered and put into storage.
The plaque was recently re-discovered and All Saints decided to raise money to have the plaque restored and installed in the current All Saints church (built in 1956 on a site down the hill from the original church) before the centenary of the end of World War 1 on 11 November 2018.
This site brings together the information we have been able to find about the people commemorated on this plaque. It remains a work in progress!
The Roll of Honour plaque before restoration. The plaque was damaged when the original All Saints building was bombed and there was some deterioration while it was in storage. All Saints was advised not to completely remove evidence of this when the plaque was restored but to ensure that the names could once again be read clearly.
The Roll of Honour was also printed in the service sheet for the unveiling of the War Memorial Window on 27 March 1920. However, there are a number of discrepancies between this list and the plaque.
There are four names on the plaque that are not listed in the service sheet. These are BURGES Eric LA, HANSFORD Wallace W, SIMPSON Charles H, and TAYLOR Thomas E.
There is one name in the service sheet that is not on the plaque. This is G STANLEY, possibly George Thomas Stanley who died in 1919. There is also a GT STANLEY on both the plaque and in the service sheet who is thought to be George Thomas Stanley who died in 1914.
BIGGS Edwin J / EJ BIGGS is thought to be Edwin George BIGGS.
CALE Archibald on the plaque appears as A COLE in the service sheet. CALE is the correct spelling.
MEDLIN Leslie on the plaque appears as LL MEDLEN in the service sheet. MEDLEN is the correct spelling.
The full service sheet from the unveiling of the War Memorial Window, including a description, may be viewed here. The window was lost at the same time the plaque was damaged, when the church was bombed in 1944.
The newspaper cutting from the time states “Blast from the bomb which fell at the rear of houses at the corner of Herbert road and Eglinton Hill severely damaged the church roof, completely smashed the stained glass east window, splintered the stone steps to the pulpit, damaged the reredos, and wrenched a memorial tablet from the wall. Debris covered the pews and gangways, and the continuance of services was obviously out of the question.”
Service sheet pages 1 - 4.pdf
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