OUR FRIEND LUCY LONDON WRITES (can you help her?) I wanted to post this as it refers to the badges and map of Australia carved into the chalk of the Wiltshire Downs near Compton Chamberlayne in Wiltshire, England, a photo of which was posted by a fellow member of this Group. George Herbert Cross purchased Compton Park in Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire. The manor house had been built rebuilt during the1500s by Sir Edward Penruddocke and remained in the same family until the early 20th Century. When George took over the house, it was in need of a great deal of repair. In the chapter of his book entitled “Wiltshire” George shares with us a “very human record of Australia’s share in the Great War. On a number of beech trees in Compton Park, probably planted before the discovery of Australia, are the names or initials, wrought with their own hands, of young men who came from that far-distant land to give themselves to the Empire in her hour of need. They were encamped in their thousands at the foot of the Wiltshire Downs, in Compton Chamberlayne and the adjoining parishes, and many a strong man’s thoughts as he sauntered through the silent woods and saw the smooth grey skin of the beeches must have turned to his dear ones, and he felt irresistibly impelled to leave some record of himself before he faced annihilation. George wondered “how many of those fine fellows are alive and well today? Of some hundreds of names and initials, many partly obliterated, I mention a few: C. Delarvillers was no mean woodcarver, R.M. of Sydney was madly in love with his Nina; her name in his hand-carving is still all over the wood. I trust he survived and between them they now have grown-up children. J.A.B. was a good designer as well as a carver; C.D. climbed twenty feet up the tree to leave his mark. C.A.W. of London, NSW, had a big bulbous heart; let’s hope he proved a better lover than a woodcarver! Tom May – I suppose it is Tom May? – the design is ingenious but rather cryptic – is a man of ideas and if he lives has probably made a fortune. Private G. Penny and E.J. Rowlands were evidently great chums. On the Downs overlooking the main road these handy lads outlined in the chalk a map of Australia as large as St. Paul’s Cathedral, and although overgrown by grass it can still be clearly seen. Some of the AIF have, dead or alive, left their tangible mark behind – those strong, dare-devil, handsome cousins who had come to our aid from beyond the seas. In the little cemetery off the village street rest the bodies of thirty or forty who died before they were vouchsafed an opportunity of firing a shot for their motherland.” From the autobiography “Suffolk Punch A Business Man’s Autobiography” by George Cross. Published by Faber and Faber Ltd., London, 1937 pp 419 - 420 George Herbert Cross (1884 – 1972) was my paternal Grandfather’s friend and business associate and later also Father’s best friend. A self-made businessman, son of a butcher, George had worked his way us to become wealthy and successful. Father used to spend most of his childhood school holidays at the Cross family home and always spoke fondly of those days. Father was a great admirer of his Father’s friend and was always telling us about him but lost touch with him when he got married. Nevertheless, a framed photograph of Mr Cross was always in pride of place on Mother’s piano. That photograph is in front of me now as I write. After the death of Father’s stepmother in 1960, Mr Cross contacted us to send his condolences and so renewed his friendship with Father. Until Mr Cross’s death in 1972, my family went regularly to visit him at his home in Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire, England. I always wanted to walk to Australia – the map drawn in the chalk downs all those years ago – but I never managed it. As George says, Australia is still very clearly visible from the road. I would love to know whether there are any relatives of the Australian soldier mentioned in George Crosss book.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 03:54:42 +0000
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