The War Memorials of Epsom and Ewell

Epsom’s famous clock tower has a plaque:
‘IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY’.
Image courtesy of Clive Gilbert © 2014

Introduction

It has been estimated that, throughout the United Kingdom, there are about 100,000 War Memorials of one kind or another. Whilst memorials commemorating a community’s casualties by name did not become common until after the carnage of the WW1, the UK has a long tradition of War Memorials: it is said that Battle Abbey was built to commemorate the Battle of Hastings!

The great variety of forms that War Memorials take (from simple framed Rolls on paper, through Books of Remembrance and stone and metal plaques to free-standing memorials and, sometimes, whole buildings) perhaps stems from the fact that there has never been any Government money or directives as to what form such memorials should take. It was was for each community or interest group moved to create a memorial to decide its form, often influenced by how much money was available.

War Memorials form an important part of our heritage, representing and acknowledging the huge sacrifices made during some of the darkest episodes in our history. They should not be thought of as glorifying war. Instead, they ought to remind us all of the terrible pain and suffering that previous generations had to endure, and should help future generations to begin to understand the devastating human cost of warfare.

Our local memorials

Throughout the Borough of Epsom and Ewell, there are many Memorials commemorating those who died in various wars.  All the memorials of which we are aware are listed in the Table below. (If you know of any others, please let us know.)

Almost all those Memorials are to commemorate casualties of the two World Wars – the two conflicts responsible for far the greatest loss of life. While all agree that the dates of WW2 were 1939-45, some memorials give the dates of the “Great War” (WW1) as 1914 to 1919 rather than the more usual 1914-18. This is not, as sometimes thought, to acknowledge that some died of their wounds after the end of hostilities. While the fighting ended with the 11 November 1918 Armistice, 1919 is the year when the “state of war” between Germany and Britain formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. Other treaties were signed at various dates to formally end the war between the Allied powers and the Central powers of Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey (Ottoman Empire). For detailed information on the various treaties see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I

All these WW1 and WW2 casualties have been researched, and the resulting information for each individual can be found by using the links below:

Great War Casualties, by surname

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

(Our Great War Remembrance Diary lists these in date order of the individuals’ deaths.)

Second World War Casualties, again by surname

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Click on the links in the table below to read about each memorial and the individuals they commemorate.

Some sources of information:

• Aircrew Remembered
• Birth Marriage And Death (BMD) Index http://freebmd.org.uk
• Canadian War Records. (Canadian Virtual War Memorial.).
• Census returns.
• Combined Operations
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
• Find A Grave
• Imperial War Museum
• Lambeth Palace Library
• Long, Long Trail
• Electoral rolls.
• Kelly’s Directories.
• Epsom and Ewell Advertiser.
• Baptism Records.
• London Gazette.
• National Archives Medal Rolls.
• National Archives
• Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19. CD
• Parish Council minutes.
• Parish Magazines.
• School Records
• Surrey recruitment registers.
• The London Scottish in the Great War by Lt-Col J.H. Lindsay
• The Times Digital Archive
• U boat.net
• War Memorials Online
• WW2 Cemeteries

Some other war related pages that you might like to see

World War One

• Anecdotes (WW1)
• Anglia, Sinking of the Hospital Ship
• Canadian Hospital Association
• Canadian Military Convalescent Hospital (Woodcote Park) see Woodcote Park Camp
• Coroner And Soldier
• Epsom & Ewell War Hospital
• Green, Station Sergeant Thomas (Epsom Riot)
• Hogg, Adam Murdie
• HMS Epsom
• Khaki College
• National Kitchens
• Other WW1 Fatalities
• Postcards (WW1)
• Somme, The
• Taunt’s no Excuse
• University & Public Schools Brigade (U.P.S.) see Woodcote Park Camp
• UPS Men – Notes
• UPS Men’s Force, Life in the
• WestEwell 1913 map showing where some of the fallen lived
• Woodcote Park Camp

World War Two

• Air Crash at 30 Acre Barn
• Aircraft Crashes during World War 2
• Army Cadet Force
• Ashley Road Deep Level Shelter
• Bomb Map (WW2)
• Civilians (WW2)
• Epsom & Ewell before, during and after WW2
• Glasers, The – Extraordinary Lives
• Home Front
• Home Guard
• Jack King (MI5 Operative)
• Naval Fatalities (WW2)
• Prefabs
• Survivors (WW2)
• Tattenham Corner Restaurant
• There is a war on you know!, see Dorset’s Ironmomgers
• Tragedy on the Home Front
• Victory in Europe – 8th May 1945
• War Diary of Hilda Andrews OBE
• Wartime Memories

Other Military Related Pages

• Battle of Waterloo
• Murray, Frederick Dymoke (1871-1901) (Boer War)
• National Service see Record your memories of the 1950s
• Northey, F V (1836-1879) (Zulu War)
• Officers and Gentlemen
• Orr, Colonel Alexander Stewart, DSO (c.1861-1914) (Boer War)