Plaque | Civilian war dead | WW2

Chelsea Old Church

Erection date: 13/5/1958

Inscription

This church, records of which date from the thirteenth century, was reconsecrated by Henry Lord Bishop of London in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on the 13th May 1958. The present building replaces that bombed on the night of the 16th April 1941 when five fire-watchers were killed - Henry Frankland - Yvonne Green - Michael Hodge - Sidney Sims - Frederick Winter - in whose memory this stone is erected.
Vicar: C. E. Leighton Thomson
Churchwardens: John W. Durnford, Arthur P. H. Stride
Architect: Walter H. Godfrey

The splendid A London Inheritance has found a booklet that was published to raise money for the rebuilding fund. That site quotes extensively from the booklet and has provided us with much of our information about the fire-watchers. The booklet is 'Chelsea Old Church : Bombing and rebuilding 1941-1950', 1957 jointly written by the vicar named on the plaque, Leighton Thomson (republished 1993). This booklet informs that the parachute mine fell at 1.20am on Thursday, 17 April 1941. The fire-watchers all went on duty on Wednesday, 16 April 1941, but they actually died after midnight.

Site: Chelsea Embankment - Old Church (2 memorials)

SW3, Chelsea Embankment

The plaque is in the church porch.  A nearby AFS plaque for Yvonne Green references this one. Green was the only one of the five people killed who was a member of the AFS.

2018: The Library Time Machine reports on an unusual painting of the old church.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

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This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Chelsea Old Church

Subjects commemorated i

John W. Durnford

Co-churchwarden of Chelsea Old Church in 1958. Andrew Behan has found someon...

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Walter H. Godfrey

Walter Hindes Godfrey was born on 2 August 1881, the eldest of the six childr...

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Arthur P. H. Stride

Co-churchwarden of Chelsea Old Church in 1958. Andrew Behan has researched t...

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C. E. Leighton Thomson

Vicar of Chelsea Old Church 1950-92. From 1986 was a canon of St Paul's. And...

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Henry Frankland

One of five fire-watchers killed on the night bombs fell on Chelsea Old Churc...

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Show all 9

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Chelsea Old Church

Created by i

Henry Montgomery Campbell, Bishop of London

Bishop of London 1956 - 61. His Wikipedia page has many examples of his sharp...

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Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

In 1923 Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (descended from the Royal House of Scotland...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Chelsea Old Church

Also at this site i

Chelsea Embankment - Old Church

Chelsea Embankment - Old Church

There were at least 3 designs for lamps along the Thames Embankments. This on...

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