ST-RAPHAELS-WAR-MEMORIAL.Pdf
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BEHIND THE NAMES. THE MEMORIAL TO THE PARISH DEAD OF THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1919, AT ST. RAPHAEL’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, KINGSTON UPON THAMES DAVID A. KENNEDY, PhD 25 June 2019 ABSTRACT The War Memorial at St. Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2NA, was installed in 1921, probably at the expense of the church’s owner, Captain, The Honourable George Savile. It lists the names of 50 parishioners; 47 men and three women. An attempt was made to compile biographical notes for each person from computerised databases and other sources. A best match was sought for each name, i.e., someone who, on a balance of probabilities in the light of the accumulated evidence, was most likely to be a person behind a name on the memorial. Most of the men served in the British forces and thirteen appeared to be Belgian citizens who probably were known to parishioners who were Belgian refugees. A British woman was killed during a German air-raid on London by shrapnel from an anti-aircraft gun. Two French sisters, assumed to be known to an existing parishioner, were killed in a church during a German long-range bombardment of Paris. One man did not die in the Great War and the name of a brother appeared to have been substituted for a sailor who died in the War. One soldier, stationed in England, was murdered by a comrade of unsound mind. In the time available, it was impossible to compile biographical notes for most of the Belgians and some of the British names, because of lack of information. Attempting a best match for some of the names, e.g., Patrick Kelly, was like seeking a needle in a haystack because the forename and surname combinations were too numerous on the databases. It is hoped that this paper will awaken the memories of St. Raphael’s parishioners and others and that more information will become available about the people named on the war memorial. Requiescant in Pace. COMMON ABBREVIATIONS Commonwealth War Graves Commission database - CWGC. UK Soldiers Killed in the Great War database - UKSKGW. 1 Belgian War Dead Register database - BWDR. Those who died for France in the First World War database - DFF. UK Register of Soldiers’ Effects database - UKSE. First World War - WW1. INTRODUCTION The war memorial within St. Raphael’s Church, Kingston, was “Erected to God for victory and in memory of…members of the parish who made the supreme sacrifice during the Great War” [see Figure 1].1 The dates on the memorial indicate that it commemorates the dead of the period between the UK’s declaration of war with Germany on 4 August 1914 and 28 June 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed.2 Other local war memorials, i.e., the public memorials at Surbiton and Hampton Wick, and those at St. Andrew’s Church, Surbiton, and St. Matthew’s Church, Surbiton, carry the dates 1914- 1918. As far as their owners were concerned, the Great War finished with the Armistice on 11 November 1918. Kingston’s public war memorial, and the memorial inside The United Reformed Church, Kingston, like St. Raphael’s, had the dates 1914-1919. The plaque commemorating the dead of the East Surrey Regiment within All Saints’ Church, Kingston, has the dates 1914-1919, whereas the memorial gates outside the church has the dates 1914-1918. It was reported that some memorials indicate that the Great War finished on 31 August 1921 when the UK Parliament declared it to be ended. Other memorials have dates into the 1920s that are relevant to military service in Germany, Palestine and North Russia. 3 The Commonwealth War Graves Commission selected the period 4 August 1914 to 21 August 1921 for responsibility for graves of people who died while serving in a Commonwealth military force or auxiliary organisation, or after discharge if their death was caused by their wartime service.4 Hereafter, the Great War is referred to by the abbreviation, WW1, i.e., The First World War. WW1 casualty statistics were published by the Robert Schuman Centre in 2011. There were 885,138 UK military deaths and 109,000 civilian deaths, including 1,260 civilian deaths resulting from air and sea bombardment of the UK. There were 58,637 Belgian military deaths and 62,000 civilian deaths. There were 1,397,800 French military deaths and 300,000 French civilian 2 deaths, including 3,357 killed in air attacks and long-range artillery bombardment.5 St. Raphael’s war memorial is made of white marble, the lettered part is approximately five feet high by four feet wide [152 cm by 122 cm] and it is installed on the south side of the nave of the church. Of the names inscribed, 47 are in military rank order. First, three captains are listed, then eleven lieutenants, and two sergeants. 31 men, apparently of lower military rank, follow: the impression given is that they were private soldiers. For only one person, Captain John Foreman - the first listed - is his regiment stated, i.e., The Royal Army Medical Corps, cited as R.A.M.C. No time of death, or place of death, of any of the persons listed is given on the memorial. Thirteen of the names, approximately 28% of the males listed, suggest a possible Belgian connection and it is known that Belgian refugees, some of whom would have been Roman Catholics who attended St. Raphael’s Church, were accommodated in the Kingston area during WW1 [below]. In order of appearance on the memorial, the Belgian names are Englebert Cappuyns, Rene Carabin, Carlos Rooze, Joseph Berthelet, Adolphe Criquillon, Gustave Delannois, Jean Guedras, Edmund Huyst, Alexandre Lockem, Leo Rendal, Ferdinand Spanogue, Charles de Soubeyran and John Stoop. Finally, the memorial lists three women, namely Miss Florence M. Smalpage, Miss Ivonne Cunningham and Miss Margaret Cunningham [see Figure 2]. Research was undertaken on St. Raphael’s war memorial and, in particular, the persons listed on it. It was stimulated by three local WW1 memorial projects. These are, the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Roll of Honour project, the Heritage Open Days Exhibition war memorial project of St. Matthew’s Church, Surbiton, and John Fisher’s and Susan Watts’ publication of 2015, “We will Remember Them” which commemorates the men of Kingston Congregational Church.6 BELGIAN REFUGEES IN THE KINGSTON AREA DURING WW1 After the German invasion of Belgium in 1914, starting in August, about 250,000 of its citizens fled to the United Kingdom. They landed at Tilbury, Margate, Folkestone, Dover, Harwich, Hull, Grimsby and other ports. Accommodation was provided by groups of local volunteers and individuals.7 3 The Surrey Advertiser newspaper in 1914 and 1915 provided evidence of hostels for Belgian refugees at Malden, East Molesey, Surbiton, Thames Ditton, Ditton Hill and Kingston Hill. Belgian refugees were accommodated in Westcroft, a house on Kingston Hill furnished by donations from local residents and at Brooklyn, a house in Denmark Road, Kingston, that was provided by the Bentall family.8 Englebert Cappuyns, an advocate, wrote how he escaped to England from Louvain with his family. He had been a hostage, feared for his life and had seen houses set on fire by the occupying forces. After landing at Tilbury, the family was accommodated in Alexandra Palace where they had an uncomfortable time. Then, they travelled to Surbiton, where first they stayed at the Southampton Hotel, adjacent to Surbiton Station, and on 24 September 1914 they moved into Westcroft.9 In July 1916, the Surrey Comet reported that a discharged Belgian soldier, called Votion, employed at Kingston’s Semaphore Works, was verbally abused by his supervisor who blamed Belgium for England’s involvement in the war.10 The Surrey Comet of 5 June 1918 reported that Raymond Demettre, aged 29, who had been invalided out of the Belgian Army, tragically drowned in the Thames off Thames Ditton Island on 1 June 1918 following an incident while punting. After a Requiem Mass in St. Raphael’s Church, he was buried in Kingston Cemetery by Fr. Ryan, the Parish Priest, on 6 June 1918.11 INSTALLATION OF THE MEMORIAL Often, a WW1 memorial was initiated by a local organising committee which decided what form it would take, where it would be located and who should be commemorated on it.12 However, no record of such a committee was found in the archives of St. Raphael’s Church and the question remained, who was responsible for the installation of its memorial? 4 Figure 1. The War Memorial at St. Raphael’s Church, Surbiton. Photograph taken in March 2019 by John McCarthy. Figure 2. The names on the War Memorial at St. Raphael’s Church, Surbiton. Photograph taken in March 2019 by John McCarthy. 5 In 1925, Fr. Peter Ernest Ryan, in his book, The Diamond Jubilee of St. Raphael’s Church, Kingston upon Thames, stated that a magnificent war memorial had been erected to honour the dead of the parish and that a Foundation Mass had been established to pray for the repose of their souls.13 Records of the Southwark Roman Catholic Archdiocese showed that on 18 April 1921 permission was given for this Mass to be said in perpetuity, on or about 11 November, each year. 14 The Surrey Comet newspaper, on 12 November 1921, recorded that on Armistice Day at St. Raphael’s Church the memorial was draped with flags of the Allies, a wreath was placed there and throughout the day, the church was open for private prayer. This evidence suggested that the memorial was installed between 18 April 1921 and 12 November 1921.