This bench has a memorial plaque dedicated to Godfrey Woolven who was killed during WWII. It’s a memorial that is in continuous use in everyday life.
People often sit here waiting for the bus and it’s easy to miss the tribute, situated in Park Hill close to Carshalton Beeches Railway Station.
Godfrey, aged 22, was the son of Godfrey and Dora Alma Woolven, of Carshalton, Surrey and served the Carshalton 98th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery under the Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry.
He was killed in action at Hazebrouk in France. According to Wikipedia: “During the two world wars Hazebrouck, in northern France was an important military target”
Godfrey Woolven is commemorated at Hazebrouck Communal Cemetery.
The plaque reads in full:
SGT GODFREY WOOLVEN
SURREY YEOMANRY
KILLED IN ACTION
HAZEBROUK – FRANCE
24TH MAY 1940 AGED 22 YEARS
Credits include the Imperial War Museum and Surrey Yeomanry. It would be interesting to track down any remaining family members. Kindly leave a comment below if you have any more information.
apologies, he is of course Godfrey the hero. spell checker wins again.
not really discovered. it’s been here at least 10 years, maybe longer. every remembrance day it gets a poppy or two. the seat was located (by whom?) next to the bus stop, which was then moved some yards away, leaving the seat somewhat stranded. Geoffrey was very young to be a sergeant at that stage in the war, so he must have been an exceptional soldier. His gun, a WW1 vintage 18 pounder, was one of 7, each dispatched to a different bridge on the Aire canal. His gun knocked out Gernan vehicles trying to cross. 11 tanks attacked and 1 or 2 were destroyed before the gun was put out of action. Geoffrey received his fatal wounds at this time. The action at the Aire canal went a long way to buying time at Dunkirk. Geoffrey is very much our Beeches hero.
Thanks for filling in more details