The Choirboy
Britain declared War on Germany on 4th August 1914 and just over ten weeks later, the first parish casualty was the beautifully-named Victor Le Strange Wayre. Reverend John Robinson wrote him a short...
Read more →Archive
Stories
Exploring the lives and heritage of Summerstown, from the trenches of the Great War to the vibrant streets of today.
The Jewel in the Crown
The great majority of the Summerstown182 were killed in France and Belgium. However, there were many other corners of the globe touched by the First World War where local men fell, amongst them such...
Read more →
A Road called Summerstown
‘Summerstown’ is a curious bending road which borders Wimbledon Dog Track and divides the boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth. In 1914 it was a residential street of about eighty homes from where at...
Read more →
Horatio’s Columns
Horatio Nelson Smith ended up living just a mile or so from a place strongly connected to his namesake. The Hero of Trafalgar lived with Lady Hamilton down the road in Merton Park. The area is still...
Read more →
The Balloon Man
Thomas Charles Milton lived at 25 Summerstown, the site of which is presently ‘By the Horns’ Brewery. He might have needed a drink given his role in the Royal Air Force ‘2nd Kite Balloon Section’ in...
Read more →
Miserable
Soldier Brown is not one of the Summerstown 182 as far as I am aware at the moment but this dreadful story from the ‘South Western Star’ December 17th 1915, shows what conditions were like for some...
Read more →
75 Burmester Road
Lance Corporal Edward Benning (killed 9th August 1915, name on the Menin Gate, Ypres) lived at Number 75 Burmester Road. According to the 1911 census, his father was a pastry cook/confectioner and...
Read more →
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland, fought in the icy waters of the North Sea off the coast of Denmark on 31st May to 1st June 1916 was the largest naval battle of the First World War. It cost roughly ten...
Read more →
Distinguished Conduct
Private William Warman from 51 Alston Road was a twenty year old stretcher-bearer in the East Surrey Regiment, caught up in the aftermath of the German Spring Offensive, 21st-26th March 1918. This...
Read more →
Reverend John Robinson
Reverend John Robinson was the vicar of St Mary’s Church from 1899 to 1923, presiding through the extremely difficult years of the First World War. He had known many of these young lads all their...
Read more →