Heroes of Chiswick Memorial regilding and remembrance service on 8th November 2015

Since this time last year we have been fundraising in order to have the names of the 33 men on the memorial in church regilded, since with the passage of time they had become faded and dull.

We are delighted that thanks to the generosity of various individuals we have raised sufficient funds to allow the necessary work to be undertaken.  The results can be seen in the photograph on the right hand side of the home page.

Needless to say, the accompanying memorial panel on the opposit pillar now looks rather shabby so our next efforts will be to raise funds in order to have it regilded too - hopefully by 2018 in time for the centenary of the cessation of hostilities in 1918.

Meanwhile, we are especially pleased that it has been possible to have the regilding of the men's names completed in time for the Remembrance Day service this year which will be held at 10.55 am on Sunday 8th November. 

Remembering the fourth fatality from St Michael's WW1 Roll of Honour

During the 10 am Holy Communion Service on Sunday 25th October 2015, the congregation at St Michael’s Church remembered the fourth man on the memorial to lose his life in WW1. Frank Leonard Cunningham died of wounds at the Australian Hospital, Wimereux, Near Boulogne on 1st October 1915, 100 years ago this month.



Frank Cunningham was the only child of Joseph Cunningham, an academic and Fellow of the Zoological Society, and his wife Sophia. A reservist with the Northumberland Hussars Yeomanry since 1909, at the outbreak of war he was called up, leaving his job at the Glasgow branch of the Vacuum Oil Company.

His parents moved to Chiswick around the time of the Great War living first at 63 St Mary’s Grove, then 35 Wavenden Avenue where they lived until their deaths in the second half of the 1930s. After his son's death, Joseph Cunningham, edited and published his son’s diaries and letters. 


To read Frank Cunningham's biography and those of the other 33 men on the memorial inside St Michael's Church, click here

To read contents of the Frank Cunningham's diaries and letters click here


New search application – known Chiswick WW1 memorials



During the past year we received emails asking if we knew whether a particular person was on any memorial in Chiswick. After some research, including referencing lists from Chiswick Library local studies section and the development of a search mechanism on the website, we now have a suitable search app on our website. To try it out click here.

Do try the app out in the first instance by putting in all or part of a surname in the ‘Last Name’ box and clicking the ‘Search’ button. Please let us know of any way you think it might be developed. We anticipate adding further lists from relevant memorials in the area that we don’t yet know of or have information on.

Remembering St Michael’s first three WW1 fatalities 100 years ago this August



During the 10 am Holy Communion Service on Sunday 9th August, the congregation at St Michael’s Church will be remembering the first three parishioners to lose their lives in WW1. The men were Wilfred Hitching (8 August 1915), Henry Gordon Carter (19 August 1915) and Archibald Frank Mortimer (28 August 1915) who fell in the Gallipoli campaign of 1915, 100 years ago this August.

Wilfred Hitching’s death and reports that Henry Gordon Carter was missing in combat appeared in the September-October 1915 Parish Magazine. Confirmation of Henry Gordon Carter’s death was reported in the November edition. He had held the position of Superintendent of the Children’s Service at St Michael’s for a year prior to the war. Archibald Mortimer’s name was added to the roll along with 8 other men after the end of hostilities.

To read the biographies of the men, click here 


New stories added to this website

Two new stories have been added to the Heroes of Chiswick website here

The first describes the role the Vicar's wife, Mrs Shelford, during the early years of the newly built and consecrated St Michael's Church in Elmwood Road and during World War 1.

The second tells the story of the Hostel for Belgian Refugees at Wellesley House, 20 Wellesley Road. The house was generously placed at the church's disposal by Dr and Mrs Grevile of Kew and the parishioners rose the challenge of creating and sustaining a hostel for the refugees who began to arrive soon after the outbreak of war.

Soup lunch on 7th March 2015

We are pleased to report that the soup lunch to raise money for the Red Cross and the St Michael's Church Memorial Regilding Appeal was well attended and a total of £200 was raised. This is being divided between the two charities. We would like to thank all those who generously gave and also those who gave time and energy in producing the home made soups, cakes and other lunch items on offer.