Memorials and bikes

[Oldhippy]

Chatham Naval Memorial.

 

[Oldhippy]

It is enclosed with walls that list the individual names and different branches of the Naval Service including the Merchant Navy. It's huge!

 

[CanucksTraveller]

where and what's that plane front end?
(sorry, can't read on the images)

My apologies, I'm terrible at not putting proper info under photos. It's the memorial at the former RAF Steeple Morden which was a US fighter base in World War 2, home to the 355th Fighter Group (consisting of 3 squadrons) which were equipped mainly with P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts. The nose cone and prop are from a Mustang.
It's almost all farmer's fields now, just a few Nissen huts, some short bits of concrete taxiways, and the memorial remain. It's not far from Royston, about 15 miles SW of Cambridge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Steeple_Morden

 

[Andy in Germany]

Can you give us some pics, with bike of course (apologies if you already have upthread).
Pity we have no Italian correspondents or they could treat us to a selection of war monuments over time with a corresponding change in bike fashions - in my experience they are forever changing/rewriting them. (When in Italy I recommend folks look for the tell-tale marks where they have removed the old plaques/statues)

Here's one I found from a ride this year, in Sexau, which is a tiny village on the edge of the Black Forest:

Centre is the WW1 memorial, and the free standing pillars either side are from WW2. Notice that the WW2 ones have no military figure or other ornamentation: this is fairly normal. Here's a closer view:

The names on the WW1 memorial are larger and the central panel is a different text, and there are 13 names on each side panel. The WW2 pillar in the picture contains about 60 names, so that's 26 men lost in WW1 and about 120 lost in WW2. This isn't unusual.

Also the WW1 centre panel has a German cross symbol talks about "Heroes" and "gratitude", whereas the text on the WW2 Panel (below the names just says "A reminder to the living; for peace". Even the text style is noticeably different.

It's also noticable that many family names on both memorials are the same.

 

[Blue Hills]

Thanks andy - interesting - my pics of italian ones will have to await more travels - when I first some of the italian ones (as most places originally post WW1) , usually the ones in rural areas, that hadn't been, er, revised, something about them struck me as odd, but couldn't put my finger on it. Then it struck me, A lot of action figures, aggressive, reminded me of my Britains models figures and ancient boy kids magazines like the Victor and Valiant. Not at all like the Brit WW1 ones I had been aware of as a kid.
If you look at the text on these memorials they will tend to talk of "a greater italy" etc.
If you look at some of the undoctored ones in Italy you can still see Fascist symbols (many WW1 memorials weren't erected until they were in power) or even references to the year of the fascist regime - Benito's miraculous arrival treated as anno zero.
I have rather mixed feelings about these Italian rewrites - they are washing the historical facts about the aggression that was around in Italy and Italy often strikes me as a country with a lot of buried/denied aggression.

 

[DRM]

Here's one I found from a ride this year, in Sexau, which is a tiny village on the edge of the Black Forest:

View attachment 566127

Centre is the WW1 memorial, and the free standing pillars either side are from WW2. Notice that the WW2 ones have no military figure or other ornamentation: this is fairly normal. Here's a closer view:


View attachment 566128

The names on the WW1 memorial are larger and the central panel is a different text, and there are 13 names on each side panel. The WW2 pillar in the picture contains about 60 names, so that's 26 men lost in WW1 and about 120 lost in WW2. This isn't unusual.

Also the WW1 centre panel has a German cross symbol talks about "Heroes" and "gratitude", whereas the text on the WW2 Panel (below the names just says "A reminder to the living; for peace". Even the text style is noticeably different.

It's also noticable that many family names on both memorials are the same.

I was in a local church the other day, on a WW1 memorial on the wall I noticed that about 40% of the surnames on it were the same as some of my high school classmates

 

[IaninSheffield]

Quite close to home, I spotted this WW1 & 2 memorial for the first time the other day. Despite cycling past there fairly regularly, and given that it was erected in 2014, I can't imagine why I've never noticed it before. Notable that there are no service personnel commemorated on it; perhaps that's done, but hidden away in the local church memorial?

 

[Willd]

29th Division War Memorial on the A45 at Stretton on Dunsmore Wikipedia

 

[Blue Hills]

I think this covers tombs doesn't it?
If not, will move.

Sir Richard Burton, translator, pornographer (according to some), explorer, linguist, sexual adventurer and so much more.
Supposedly not a catholic, an atheist , but nevertheless ended up in this tent with his wife in a Mortlake catholic graveyard:

Not sure what the reprobate is up to in there but he appears to have ventilation:

Apparently if you go round the back you can peer in and see the coffins of him and his wife.

More on him:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Francis_Burton

edit - a recent blog post on it from the excellent Ian Visits.

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/20...utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklyemailblog

Didn't realise you can look inside though I think i saw the ladder - must ride that way again.

 

[biggs682]

@Blue Hills that's impressive ro say the least and tombs are certainly allowed

 

[biggs682]

Major Mick Mannock memorial stone in one of our local parks .

He was a world war 1 fighter pilot .

https://www.historynet.com/edward-mick-mannock-world-war-i-raf-ace-pilot.htm

 

[Willd]

A memorial to Percy Pilcher who could have been one of the most famous people in the world, if he'd had a bit more time and luck Wikipedia

 

[biggs682]

A 1907 monument to Pytchley huntsman Charles third Baron Chesham made from Ashlar limestone with some nice carvings on , it sits just outside Brixworth approaching from Pitsford .

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1367050

 

[figbat]

War memorial, Harwell

 

[Willd]

Memorial to Sir Frank Whittle