The Trust was honoured that Daniel Francis, MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford (which also covers much of East and Welling), highlighted the work of the Trust to Parliament, in his speech in the 80th Anniversary VE Debate, on 6th May. His tribute, in particular, noted the work the Trust does in remembering those who lost their lives in WW2 in our area. We have now completed our research on our WW2 online memorial for East Wickham and Welling, which is our focus. However , we do also remember those from the Bexley Borough, on our Facebook page, of which three recent posts include:
George Ernest Faulkner – killed in action in France in May 1916. The son of George and Alice of Pinnacle Hill, Bexleyheath, he enlisted in Woolwich as a drummer and that “he suffered various wounds and breakdown while on duty”.
Able Seaman Victor Albert Shove – lost on HMS Good Hope early in WW1 in November 1914. He was married with two children and a blacksmith before the war, living at The Forge, Church Road, Bexleyheath.
Sidney William George Shove – a veteran of both WW1 and the earlier South African war. He lived with his wife Alice at 66 West Street, Bexleyheath. Sidney served in WW2 in the Sidcup Home Guard and sadly died in July 1943 having “caught pneumonia related to Home Guard duties”.
All three men are listed on the Bexleyheath War Memorial. More information about them is available on our Facebook page, where we also post about the work of the Trust and other local history.
We strive to remember those local people who have lost their lives in war and really appreciate the support of Daniel Francis in helping us to remember them, and are proud to be forever recorded in Hansard for the second time! The full transcript of his speech is listed below.
We also thank the support of Louie French, MP for Bexley and Sidcup who first publicly commended the Trust in Parliament in 2023 during a debate on the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees Bill alongside James Heappey MP, Minister of State (Minister for Armed Forces and Veterans).
***************************************
Daniel Francis MP’s VE Debate speech: “It is a privilege to speak in this debate to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. I am proud to serve as the Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford and to represent a constituency that is home to around 2,000 veterans. My constituency is in proximity to the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, in the south-east corner of London. Back in the day, the Royal Arsenal was home to one of the biggest munitions factories in the UK, with 32,000 employees producing guns, shells, cartridge cases and bombs, so my constituency became a prime target for Nazi bombing.
While many of its residents were fighting overseas, my constituency was really playing its part to support the war effort. Crayford was home to the Vickers factory, which again produced machine guns, anti-aircraft predictors, naval gun-laying equipment, fuses and casings for Barnes Wallis’s bouncing bomb. The Slade Green anti-aircraft battery was built in the late 1930s and was the most easterly anti-aircraft site built inside the London inner artillery zone. Today, the gun emplacements, fire command post, pillboxes and air raid shelter are still standing. After a successful local campaign in 2010, the site is now grade II listed.
There are a number of war memorials across the constituency, including the garden of remembrance in Oaklands Road, Bexleyheath; St Augustine’s church in Slade Green, St Paul’s church in Northumberland Heath; and the Crayford war memorial garden. A window in St Paulinus church, Crayford, commemorates three members of the women’s voluntary services who died in a V1 explosion in July 1944. In total, 66 people were killed and 184 properties were destroyed, with 7,000 properties being damaged in the area around Crayford High Street. Hundreds more properties were destroyed across the constituency as a result of Nazi bombing.
I pay tribute to the East Wickham & Welling War Memorial Trust for the work it does to commemorate the war effort and the brave soldiers from Bexleyheath and Crayford who served in on the second world war. Its area of benefit covers part of my constituency and the constituency of the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French). It has carried out extensive work to ensure that a memorial is in place for local people who gave their lives, and it holds an incredibly moving service every November to remember them,
I also mention the hard work and dedication of the two Royal British Legion branches in my constituency – the Bexleyheath and Welling branch and the Crayford branch – and thank them for all the work that they do to recognise the important contributions to the war effort. I look forward to joining them in attending a number of events in my constituency on Thursday to commemorate VE Day and to be able to pay my respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.”
************************************
“That generation’s united strength carried them through six years of war, six years of suffering and six years of sacrifice to preserve the way of life that we enjoy and the values that we hold dear today. From the evacuation of Dunkirk to the battle of Britain and the blitz, we remember the brave service personnel from Great Britain and the Commonwealth who served their country, and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. We thank you and we remember you.”
Opening words in the VE Debate from Stephanie Peacock, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.