A CROWD-FUNDING initiative has been launched to restore 76 19th-century military graves in St Saviour’s churchyard, many belonging to veterans who fought at the Battle of Waterloo.
The graveyard holds what is believed to be the largest collection of such graves, following the retirement to Jersey of many ex-servicemen in the first half of the 19th-century.
It was former St Savour Rector the Rev Peter Dyson – now Rector of Slindon, Madehurst and Eartham in West Sussex – whose research first helped establish the graveyard’s significance, culminating in 2021 in the unveiling by the Princess Royal of a dedicated plaque bearing the names of the servicemen. Their stories are told in a book written to mark the occasion by Sir William Mahon.
‘Sadly, many of these graves are in great need of repairing, cleaning and the writing reconstructed,’ Mr Dyson said. ‘For instance, there are two who fought at the Battle of Waterloo both aged 17 – one John Prendergast Walsh, the other Frederick Beatty. The former lost a leg and the latter was badly injured in the jaw. Walsh’s grave is becoming unreadable and Beatty’s has fallen over,’ he added.
Now, Ned Mallet de Carteret has launched a JustGiving page to try to raise the £5,000 required for military grave restorer Steve Davies to renovate the memorials.
Mr Davies, a former member of the 3rd Battalion the Royal Green Jackets, has worked on more than 600 graves of servicemen over the past five years, including two graves of Jersey recipients of the Victoria Cross in a recent visit to the Island.
Mr Davies said he had been ‘amazed’ at the number of graves at St Saviour’s Church which belonged to retired servicemen who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
‘I am an accredited memorial mason with five years’ experience in renovating pre-1914 graves.
‘My proposal is to return to the Island for two weeks and clean the headstones so they are readable and sustainable,’ he said.
Donations can be made to support the project at: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/MilitaryGravesRestorationinJersey.
