Waterloo Memorial

We were honoured to be commissioned to design and manufacture a befitting memorial to honour six Earl Shilton men who fought at the Battle of Waterloo.

Descendants of six Earl Shilton men who fought at Waterloo were among the crowd who celebrated the unveiling of a monument to their memory.

The commemorative stone, in the shape of a carriage gun wheel and engraved with the names of the soldiers, was created thanks to the dedication of a band of history buffs.

The Earl Shilton to Waterloo Historical Group gained a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to support a number of ventures in remembrance of the men, Nathaniel, Samuel and George Almey, Thomas and George Chapman and Jacques Raven, in this the 200th anniversary year of the Battle of Waterloo.

As well as the stone, a book outlining the story of three of the men, Nathaniel, Samuel and George Almey, has been published.

These can be purchased from £5.00 each plus £1.80 postage and packaging.

Please make cheques payable to ‘Earl Shilton to Waterloo Historical Group’, and send to:
Paul Seaton, 27 Tiffany Court, Albert Road, Leicester, LE2 2AA.

For alternative methods of payment please email paul.lseaton@gmail.com

Book writer and group member Paul Seaton, who uncovered the Almeys’ involvement in the conflict while researching his family tree, has also appeared in a History Channel special on Waterloo hosted by actor Sean Bean.

He said: “The Reverend Martin Castle led an all age worship service at St Simon and St Jude before the unveiling which was well attended with around 250 people present. The service had an emphasis on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and Earl Shilton’s connections to the battle. During the service six young children, all descendants of the Almey and Raven families, lit six candles in memory of Earl Shilton’s six Waterloo heroes. The Earl Shilton to Waterloo Historical Group committee members David Woolerton and Chris Coe both delivered bible readings.

“The congregation were then given a short synopsis of the Battle of Waterloo by David Treddinnick MP for Bosworth, this was followed by Councillor Janice Richards Mayor of Hinckley and Bosworth giving the background as to how the Waterloo story was found. At the end of the service the congregation walked a short distance to the adjacent Hall Field, the crowd then gathered round to witness the unveiling of the new commemorative stone by Captain Rob Maynard of G Battery RHA part of the Parachute Regiment.”

Paul added: “And the icing on the cake was both Mandy Chesterton, also a descendant of Nathaniel Almey, and I appeared in Sean Bean’s Waterloo on the History Channel on Sunday. Part two is today.

“We were filmed in January on Salisbury Plain watching a Waterloo cannon being fired. A lot of information used during filming was taken from Alexander Cavalie Mercers’ book The Journal of the Waterloo Campaign, he of course was the Captain of G Troop Royal Horse Artillery which had within its ranks the three Almeys from Earl Shilton.

“While being filmed at Salisbury Plain we also witnessed the firing of replica Congreve rockets and of course Jacques Raven was a gunner in Whinyates Rocket Troop at Waterloo.

Market Bosworth

A specially commissioned memorial to mark the dedication and sacrifice of those involved with the JJ Churchill factory in Market Bosworth during the Second World War has been unveiled.

The cairn stone honours members of the Churchill family – a Battle of Britain hero and two secret agents – as well as the commitment of staff who worked on plane engine components, a vital part of the home front war effort.

Funded by the Market Bosworth Society with support from the parish council, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Greener Gardens, G Seller and Co Ltd and JJ Churchill itself, the stone lies adjacent the factory on Station Road.

It was unveiled by Bosworth MP David Tredinnick before a dedication service and wreath laying led by Canon David Jennings.

Wreaths were laid by members of the Churchill family in honour of firm founder Walter and his brothers, Oliver and Peter, while factory apprentice Karan Singh laid a wreath commemorating the Churchill employees.

James Churchill said: “We are honoured the founder of the company and his brothers are to be commemorated in this way, alongside those members of staff without whom Churchill’s contribution to the war would not have been possible.

Established by Walter in 1937, Churchill Components was originally based in Coventry but was blitzed out in 1941, relocating to Market Bosworth.

Having worked closely with Sir Frank Whittle in the early days of jet engines, the transition to gas turbines and compressor blades was a natural step for the business.

Walter, an RAF officer, regularly landed his Hurricane in the field opposite the factory to oversee the move from Coventry and the important work carried out towards the war effort.

An ace’ with seven German kills, Walter was injured in the Battle of Britain and died in action in August 1942 when he was shot down over Sicily.

The company was continued by his wife Joyce and second son James, hence the JJ Churchill name as it now stands.

His brothers, Peter and Oliver, followed no less distinguished but entirely different and wholly secret paths during the war.

Both special operations executives, Oliver became the British liaison to the Italians when they switched to the Allies in September 1943, while Peter was instrumental in supporting the French partisan cause, eventually being captured and tortured by the Germans.

He claimed to be related to Winston Churchill when arrested to make himself appear more valuable and when he was sent to the infamous Dachau concentration camp he was lodged with officers in a brothel, not in the notorious death camp itself.

Peter Loseby, chairman of the Market Bosworth Society, who spearheaded the memorial project, said: This memorial reinforces the links which have been in place between JJ Churchill and the local community for the last 74 years and we are grateful to our funding partners and sponsors for supporting this important feature of our local community for current and future generations.”