Norfolk Churches and the First World War
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Barningham Winter
The reredos in St Mary’s Church, Barningham Winter, depicts Allied First World War soldiers gathering around a radiant cross. A plaque on the north wall of the nave states ‘The reredos in this church is erected to the glory of God and is sacred to the memory of Lt Col Charles Edward Radclyffe DSO Rifle Brigade who was reported wounded & missing on Sep 26th 1915 while commanding the 11th Batt Essex Regt at the Battle of Loos. It was placed here by his widow Theresa Caroline and his son Charles Edward Mott-Radclyffe so that the name of a brave soldier and a great gentleman be never forgotten by those who worship in this church in the years to come.’ DSO stands for Distinguished Service Order, which was awarded for operational gallantry with highly successful leadership. Lt Col Radclyffe is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, alongside 20,609 names of British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave. The Battle of Loos (September 1915 – October 1915) was the largest British attack of 1915 and the first time the Army used gas, but ultimately resulted in a defeat. The objective was to break through the German defences in Artois and Champagne but the British attacks were largely contained by the Germans. A shortage of artillery ammunition amounted to a weak bombardment which failed to make any significant penetration in the German barbed wire, which was 30ft deep in places. The twelve attacking battalions suffered 8,000 casualties in 4 hours out of 10,000 men. Lieutenant John Kipling, son of British author Rudyard Kipling, was killed in the battle. Despite his son having been rejected by the Army and the Royal Navy due to poor eyesight, Rudyard used his influence to secure a commission for him in the 2nd Battalion Irish Guards.
From what I can ascertain, some of the divisions did actually reach the enemy’s trenches for their bodies can now be seen on the barbed wire.
St Mary’s Church, Ditchingham
St Mary’s Church houses one of Norfolk’s grandest war memorials. A life-sized bronze effigy of a soldier lies as if he had been carried to burial from the front lines, the embodiment of courage and self sacrifice. Behind, a black marble tablet rises about 8ft high and bears the names of the dead. A bronze plaque in the church commemorates Mark Haggard, a Captain in the 2nd Battalion Welch Regiment who was killed on 13th September 1914 in the Battle of the Aisne, and states ‘this tablet is set where he often worshipped.’ It was placed by his uncle, the successful author Sir Henry Rider Haggard, amongst others. On the night of 2nd-3rd September 1916, six high explosive bombs were dropped on Ditchingham by Zeppelins. The east window of St Mary’s Church was blown out. Extensive window damage was also suffered by Ditchingham House and All Hallows Convent. A bomb crater is still visible by All Hallows Farmhouse. Luckily no one was injured. Bombing had begun in early 1915 with the targeting of military and industrial areas along the British coast. In Norfolk, bombs were dropped on Norwich, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn, Heacham, Snettisham (which blew out the church’s windows), Sheringham and Brancaster. A total of fifty-two raids by Zeppelins and other airships were carried out against Britain, although by 1917 these attacks were becoming less effective. Only six raids took place in 1917, and only four in 1918. These attacks killed around six hundred civilians. The cost to the Germans was high, with about thirty airships being lost either in combat or as a result of accidents or weather conditions.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
From ‘For the Fallen’ by L. Binyon
St Peter & St Paul’s Church, West Newton
A beautiful window in the north aisle of St Peter and St Paul’s Church honours the memory of Captain Frank Beck, who was killed at Suvla Bay in Gallipoli on 12th August 1915. It features a magnificent St George, the insignia of the Royal Norfolk Regiment and a depiction of Suvla Bay. Captain Beck, a land agent for the Royal Family, was instrumental in the formation of the famous Sandringham Company of Volunteers (5th Battalion Norfolk Regiment) primarily comprising members of the Royal Staff from the Estate. They numbered over one hundred. Despite being fifty-four years of age Captain Beck was determined to lead his men, saying, “I formed them, how could I leave them now? The lads will expect me to go with them; besides I promised their wives and children I would look after them.” The 5th Battalion set sail for Gallipoli in July 1915 and landed at Suvla Bay, going into battle immediately despite unclear objectives. The Gallipoli Campaign (February 1915 – January 1916) was an Anglo-French operation against Turkey which aimed to occupy Constantinople via the Dardanelles channel. Captain Beck fought alongside his two nephews, Arthur and Albert, who were both awarded the Military Cross. He was last seen by the trunk of a destroyed tree either dead or resting. With 250 men and 16 officers, Colonel Sir Horace Proctor-Beauchamp advanced towards the bulk of the Turkish force and he and his men were last seen near a wood. The Sandringham Company was never seen again either alive or dead. The series of events remains a mystery and a legend developed that the Battalion had vanished into a strange cloud. A single Norfolk regimental cap badge was found amongst the bodies recovered at Gallipoli. Revd Charles Pierre-Point Edwards was sent by Queen Alexandra to investigate and he found the remains of 122 men he identified as 5th Norfolks at the rear of the main Turkish position. It is well known that the Turks were not keen on taking prisoners. In 1991 a BBC investigation reported that Pierre-Point Edwards had found that all the soldiers had been shot in the head. Captain Beck is also commemorated on a brass plaque in St Mary Magdalene’s Church in Sandringham and the Helles Memorial in Turkey. The Gallipoli Campaign resulted in an allied loss, due to poor military leadership in some cases, faulty tactics including complete lack of surprise, the inexperience of the troops, inadequate equipment, and a shortage of shells.
The officers of the 5th Battalion Norfolk Regiment including their Commanding Officer Colonel Proctor-Beauchamp
St Michael’s Church, Booton
The memorial to Clifford Hicks Butler M.A. in St Michael’s Church, Booton tells us that he was born at nearby Booton Hall on 26th September 1881. He was a Classical Exhibitioner of Jesus College, Oxford and was embarking on a career in law. He was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Royal Highlanders Black Watch and was killed in action aged 36 in the Battle of Arras on St George’s Day in 1917. Leading his company, “and for your wives and babies in the front rank he fell.” The fallen were denied the knowledge of victory, “Went the day well or ill, we died and never knew, but well or ill, England, we died for you.” Lieutenant Butler is buried in Brown’s Copse Cemetery in Roeux, France.
Extracts from the Battalion’s war diary provide an insight into the carnage:
At 6.20 a.m. Battalion H.Q. moved forward to junction of Sunken Road and Humid Trench when a message was received from 2/Lieut. Butler, Commanding “D” Coy., to say that the advance was held up by M.G. fire in the old British Assembly Trenches opposite the GAVRELLE Road.
At 11.15 a.m. I sent my Adjutant, Lieut. J. RUTHERFORD and 2/Lieut. MENZIES to get exact information as to the position of each Coy., and shortly after their departure a message came from “D” Coy, now under 2/Lieut. CAMPBELL, to say that 2/Lieut. BUTLER, the “D” Coy. Commander was killed and that the remainder of “D” Coy., about 40 men, were holding the line of the road about I.7.c.7.5., but that further advance was not possible owing to snipers from the forward slopes of GREENLAND HILL and also from M.G.s in the same locality.
Acce atque vale
Hail and farewell
St Leonard’s Church, Billingford
A photo in St Leonard’s Church shows six young men of Billingford Church Choir in their uniforms before heading off to the killing fields of war in 1914. Four out of the six never returned and are commemorated on the war memorial plaque in the church; only Sam Fisher and Leonard Bloomfield survived. Amongst the nine names on the memorial is that of Gordon Flowerdew who won the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy which can be awarded to British and Commonwealth soldiers. Gordon was born in Billingford in 1885 and emigrated to Canada at the age of eighteen. He enlisted in Lord Strathcona’s Horse in 1914 and rose through the officer ranks before being given command of a squadron in 1918. The Canadian Cavalry Brigade did not see much direct action due to the nature of trench warfare but in the spring of 1918 it was tasked with stopping German forces crossing the L’Avre River near Amiens, in what would become “the last great cavalry charge”. As the Germans entered Moreuil Wood from the east, Lieutenant Flowerdew’s squadron advanced from the north. Riding into the fire of five infantry companies and an artillery battery, the squadron suffered enormous casualties (more than half of the men in C Squadron were killed), and Lieutenant Flowerdew was fatally wounded. However, the cavalry charge so unnerved the Germans that they were never able to capture Moreuil Wood, and their advance turned into a retreat in early April. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions. Gordon lived long enough to be told that the charge had been successful. He is buried at Namps-au-Val Cemetery in France.
Memorial plaque commemorating members of Horstead Church Choir who were killed in the First World War
Norwich Cathedral
Edith Cavell’s story is one of great selflessness and bravery. She was born in Swardston, a village six miles south of Norwich, in 1865. Her father was vicar there for forty-five years. Edith trained as a nurse and was first recruited to be the matron of the Berkendael Medical Institute in Brussels before becoming matron of a clinic. At the outbreak of the First World War, the clinic was taken over by the Red Cross. Edith treated both Allied and German soldiers. The rapid retreat of the British Expeditionary Forces left many British soldiers trapped behind enemy lines. Edith sheltered British, French and Belgian soldiers and helped two hundred to reach the neutral Netherlands. A network provided them with false papers, money and guides. Edith helped at least five men from the 1st Norfolk Battalion to escape after the Battle of Mons. One of these was Charlie Scott who was sheltered by a number of Belgian families before being taken into Edith’s care. With the Germans conducting house-to-house searches for escapees, Edith warned Charlie that he would have to hide in a barrel of apples and he managed to evade capture. German authorities became suspicious of Edith and she was arrested in August 1915, charged with harbouring Allied soldiers. At the court-martial she admitted her guilt. The German Military Code stated that in time of war, anyone aiding a hostile power, or of causing harm to German or allied troops shall be punished with death for war treason. The First Geneva Convention ordinarily guaranteed protection of medical personnel but such protection was forfeit if medical practices were seen to be used as cover for belligerent action. The British Government was helpless but the United States attempted to apply diplomatic pressure to no avail. Edith was executed by firing squad on 12th August 1915. Due to her profession and heroic approach to death, she became an iconic propaganda figure used to increase military recruitment and to highlight German barbarism. After the war, her body was brought back to Britain for a memorial service in Westminster Abbey and was subsequently laid to rest beside Norwich Cathedral (with special permission from King George V). Only two other British remains were repatriated: those of the Unknown Warrior and Charles Fryatt (a merchant seaman). Edith is commemorated by a memorial just to the west of the cathedral boundary wall. To mark the centenary of Edith’s death, the Cathedral also commissioned artist Brian Whelan to paint a series of 14 paintings called The Passion of Edith Cavell: The Way of the Cross. During Lent these paintings are hung in the Cathedral’s Library and during the rest of the year they are usually displayed in the Cathedral’s Ambulatory, near St Saviour’s Chapel. The Edith Cavell Pilgrimage is a seven-mile route passing by many places significant to her life. St Saviour’s Chapel in Norwich Cathedral is dedicated to the Royal Norfolk and Royal Anglian Regiments.
Standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realise that patriotism is not enough.
I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.
Edith Cavell
Church of the Holy Trinity, Loddon
There is a particularly moving marble memorial in the north aisle of Holy Trinity Church in Loddon. It immortalises the memory of brothers William and Francis Cadge, depicted together in their uniform in relief. The brothers were two of five children born to Edward, a solicitor, and Caroline Cadge of Bank House Loddon. Lieutenant Francis Cadge trained at the Royal Military College in Camberley before being gazetted to the 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment in 1912. He served in India and Mauritius before returning to Britain in December 1914 and was killed four months later in April 1915 at Gallipoli, aged 22. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial. Francis’ older brother William received temporary commission in the Army in 1914 (a commission which lasted the duration of the war and was often granted to men outside the traditional officer class). William was killed in action in September 1915 at the Battle of Loos, aged 26. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Loos memorial. Another brother, Christopher, served as a captain in the East Surrey Regiment and lived to the age of 92.
St Peter’s Church, Reymerston
The Barnham Broom and Upper Yare Remembrance Project has commemorated and celebrated the lives of the one hundred and sixty soldiers, seamen and airmen from the rural villages named on the fifteen war memorials within its group of parishes. Each serviceman has a detailed biography on the website and an interactive map depicts their place of burial, or commemoration for those with no known grave. Eleven are buried in churchyards in Norfolk. The Walk of Peace incorporates the churches at Thuxton, Garvestone and Reymerston. It can be walked as a 3.23 mile route or a longer 4.21 mile loop. Walkers are encouraged to remember the brave men and women and honour the debt of gratitude we owe them. The Memorial Garden behind St Peter’s Church in Reymerston offers a tranquil space lined with twenty-six commemorative trees, one for each serviceman from the parish who gave his life.
