Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Some of the Horsham houses have World War One memorial plaques made of either brass or wood. Some appear to be in the central hall near the senior housemaster's study. Can anyone confirm which houses do have such plaques?

It would appear that some of the refurbished houses do not have such plaques. Is this because they never had them or because they were simply not replaced during the refurbishment process. If the latter, what happened to them?

Foureyes wrote:Some of the Horsham houses have World War One memorial plaques made of either brass or wood. Some appear to be in the central hall near the senior housemaster's study. Can anyone confirm which houses do have such plaques?

It would appear that some of the refurbished houses do not have such plaques. Is this because they never had them or because they were simply not replaced during the refurbishment process. If the latter, what happened to them?

I cannot recall plaques in either Maine A or Middleton A when I was there.

I seem to remember some plaques by house, but I can't re-call exactly where.

I think that they just became part of the furniture. I have discovered that there is one in Lamb B to this day, but in six years (1949-55) I cannot remember seeing it, but I must have done.

J.R. wrote:I seem to remember some plaques by house, but I can't re-call exactly where.

I seem to remember them on the opposite wall to the Junior Housemaster's study in our day, John

In view of the rapidly approaching 90th. anniversary of Armisice, and the fact that my Mothers cousin was badly wounded in WW2, (He was Coleride B as well- Dick Doyle), maybe someone in close contact to the school could make some representation to the office.

My Grand-Children take great pride in placing a poppy and memorial wooden Cross on the Dorking Cenotaph in memory of my late Mum's baby brother who died not long after 'D' Day. A great tradition that I hope never dies ! Tom died in the big-push not far from the Normand beaches and that was after having served two tours in North Africa with Montgomery.

Having located his grave in France, I hope to visit it on behalf of the family one day as I don't think anyone has so far.

J.R. wrote: My Grand-Children take great pride in placing a poppy and memorial wooden Cross on the Dorking Cenotaph in memory of my late Mum's baby brother who died not long after 'D' Day. A great tradition that I hope never dies ! Tom died in the big-push not far from the Normand beaches and that was after having served two tours in North Africa with Montgomery.

Having located his grave in France, I hope to visit it on behalf of the family one day as I don't think anyone has so far.

I hope that he is in one of the organised burial sites which, by all accounts, are well tended.

My aunt's husband was torpedoed in WW2, died of the wounds in Gibraltar and, when I saw it in 1963, his grave seemed to have been totally ignored for decades - weedy, the stone moss covered and in bad shape. Very different from the official picture..

My belief is that they were in the centre hall on the ground floor in the area between the two boarding houses... I think Maine did have one but I rarely went through there...

Great Plum wrote:My belief is that they were in the centre hall on the ground floor in the area between the two boarding houses... I think Maine did have one but I rarely went through there...

On recollection, I think you're right Matt.

Surely the central hall was almost regarded as OOB's in my day if memory serves ?

There's a bit in The Old Blue mag September 2008 which I find almost unbearably poignant - written by the superb historian David Miller.

"... at the end of Sunday Evensong, the Headmaster, Dr Upcott, would process to the High Altar from where he would read out a list of the Old Blues who had died since the last reading; his sonorous tones accompanied by buglers sounding the Last Post outside in the Quad. In the early days of the War, most of the names read out were of Old Blues who had long since left.... as the War dragged on, however, more and more of the names were known - boys who had left months, perhaps only weeks earlier, and now were no more. For the older boys there was not only the grief at the loss of a friend or of an academic or sporting hero, but also the sombre realisation that their turn to serve must surely come and perhaps in a years time it would be their name that was being read out.

J.R. wrote:

Great Plum wrote:My belief is that they were in the centre hall on the ground floor in the area between the two boarding houses... I think Maine did have one but I rarely went through there...

On recollection, I think you're right Matt.

Surely the central hall was almost regarded as OOB's in my day if memory serves ?

I think it was unless you were getting the post or newspapers, or ringing the bell, there was no reason to go through there... (It probably was OOB!)

Are there any memorials for people who died in service but not during war time?

Ian Halden (MaB/ThA) died in a helicopter training exercise in the late 80s. I know he had a plaque in the chapel but...

By the way how are the names of OBs decided upon for chapel plaques? I think there was also one for jeremy Kitchen who died in a car crash in France in summer 1984...Maybe CS Steger Lewis will know...

Chaz asked:

Are there any memorials for people who died in service but not during war time?

The two WW2 tablets in front of Dining Hall includes the names of all those Horsham OBs who died in WW2. 199 in total, including all Services PLUS several civilians, eg, some who died in Japanese PoW camps.

In addition, the right-hand of those two tablets also includes:
- the names of five Hertford OBs who died in the war; one a nursing sister in the Army, the other four being civilian victims of bombing raids.
- the names of two Horsham OBs who died in post-WW2 conflicts; one in the Suez campaign, the other in Korea.

Ian Halden (MaB/ThA) died in a helicopter training exercise in the late 80s. I know he had a plaque in the chapel but...

As far as I know there has been no move to include further names. However, the WW2 tablets were not erected until 1992, so presumably a 1984 death would have been considered.

By the way how are the names of OBs decided upon for chapel plaques? I think there was also one for jeremy Kitchen who died in a car crash in France in summer 1984...Maybe CS Steger Lewis will know...

No idea, but logic suggests that the Chaplain, the headmaster and the Bursar might be involved, possibly even the Treasurer. Suggest you write to the Chaplain and ask.