The History behind the Trinity War Memorial by Neil Mackenzie, Class of 1981

In 2007, Mark Gardiner (Class of 1981) and I embarked on a weeklong tour of the cemeteries within the Ypres Salient in Belgium, totalling approximately 170 sites. While preparing for this trip, we noticed that Whitgift School had a Roll of Honour for Old Boys who had perished in the Great War. Surprisingly, no equivalent record existed for Trinity, which was known as Whitgift Middle School in 1914. With invaluable assistance from the school’s archivist at the time, Annie Morley, we began compiling accounts of all the men listed on the War Memorial who had been interred or commemorated in the Ypres Salient. During our trip, we paid our respects at their graves and memorials, as well as those of approximately 300 other individuals, placing poppy crosses and remembering their sacrifice.

Upon our return, we initiated research on all the men and boys listed on the War Memorial, gathering information on their pre-war lives, their time at the school, their wartime service and the circumstances surrounding their deaths. Researching those who served in the British army during WW1 was challenging because of the loss of many records during the Blitz of 1940-41. Nevertheless, the National Archive at Kew and the informative book ‘Croydon and the Great War,’ published in 1920, provided valuable insights.

During our research, we discovered that there were Old Boys who had attended Whitgift Middle (WM) and lost their lives in the war who were not commemorated on the Memorial. This was partly because some of the boys transferred from WM to Whitgift Grammar School. Notable among them was 2nd Lieutenant Lionel Morris, the first pilot to be shot down by Manfred von Richthofen, the ‘Red Baron’.

In total, we identified 36 Old Boys who had fallen in the Great War but were not commemorated. We collaborated with the school to address this issue, ultimately deciding to redesign the memorial.

Although there was some concern about modifying an existing memorial, it had already undergone five relocations or alterations since its original unveiling in 1921.

In addition to adding the new WW1 names, we wanted to enhance the visibility of the names of Old Boys who had perished in WW2. Their names had been added to a lower metal plaque on the Memorial, rendering them almost unreadable without bending over.

The new Memorial was unveiled on November 7, 2018. Despite heavy rain for the duration of the rededication ceremony, led by the Bishop of Croydon, the sun emerged the moment it was over. The Colour Party from the School got soaked, but us oldies had umbrellas, so we were fine! The surrounding flowerbed featured ceramic poppies, with two flowers per stem, one for each WW1 and WW2 man, and a three-flower stem for the Currie brothers. During the reception that followed, I chatted with former headmaster Robin Wilson, who resided in the same road, Beech House Road, where the Currie brothers – Gordon (15), Roy (14) and Brien (10) lost their lives in a Zeppelin raid in 1915.

The new memorial now bears the names of 145 men and boys from WW1 and 88 men from WW2. Of the WW1 names, three were current pupils when they perished, two were masters (Stewart and Halley-Jones) and 140 were former pupils.

As well as those of Morris and the Currie brothers, we encountered numerous intriguing stories about the individuals commemorated on the memorial. One particularly poignant story is that of Captain Frank Ridley Ingrams of the 9th Battalion East Surrey Regiment. He was the grandson of William Ingrams, the first-ever headmaster at Whitgift Middle, and attended both WM and Whitgift Grammar. He was 16 and therefore underage when he enlisted, but he had the consent of his parents and the Head of Whitgift school. Ingrams quickly rose to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, received the Military Cross for his work under fire, was promoted to Captain in August 1916 and was Mentioned in Dispatches. Tragically, he was killed just outside Delville Wood on the Somme on September 3, 1916, at the tender age of 18. His body was never identified, and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

Throughout our endeavours, we received tremendous support from the Archive and Alumni teams at the School, as well as Bill Wood, archivist, at Whitgift. However, special recognition is owed to Robin McKinlay, the former Estates Manager, who offered significant assistance and coordinated various aspects, including securing additional stone for the Memorial from the same quarry that had supplied the original stone in 1937.

Following the 2018 rededication, Mark devoted significant effort to finalising the articles on each individual. Over the years, we managed not only to visit their burial or commemoration sites but, for many, also the precise locations of their demise.

Upon completion of these articles in 2021, we made them accessible to the school, believing our work had concluded. Just a few weeks later, however, Mark discovered a new source of information that led us to identify an additional 24 Old Boys who should be commemorated on the memorial. Our work continues…