Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust

The WWII Avenue of Remembrance - The Tilt, Cobham

Newcomers to the Cobham area often comment on the attractive avenue of cherry trees that line either side of the Stoke Road and the entrance to Mizen Way on the Tilt Green. Typically, they flower late April or early May.

Avenue of Remembrance Cherry TreesOriginal Avenue of Remembrance Cherry Trees in their full glory

New Tilt Cherry Tree MapNew Cherry Tree MapThe original forty four trees have a special significance as they were planted as a memorial after the Second World War by the Cobham Village Women's Institute with each tree commemorating a life lost from Cobham during the Second World War, 1939-1945. The Dedication Service for the Avenue of Flowering Cherry Trees took place on Sunday 24th February 1946.

Original tree collarOriginal tree collarWhen originally planted each tree had a metal collar with the name of a serviceman. Over time some of these trees have died and although the tree has been replaced, most of these collars have been lost. We know all the names of those commemorated but we don't know for certain which name appeared on which tree. 

Following an Elmbridge Borough Council public consultation at the end of 2017, it was agreed that all the trees would be replaced to make a uniform avenue once again in honour of the brave serviceman from Cobham who lost their lives in WWII.

While researching the details of the servicemen included in the memorial, two additional names were identified which had not been included in the original memorial. All the trees were replaced in February 2018 in a slightly modified layout which included the two additional trees. This new layout is represented in the new cherry tree map above.

In November 2023 the Trust completed its project to reinstate new metal collars for all the servicemen. Each collar also features a QR code which allows a visitor with a smartphone to go directly to the Cobham Heritage website and view the details and photograph (where available) of the serviceman represented by that tree.

On the 26th April 2009 the Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust completed a project to add a memorial plinth as a lasting reminder of those local service people who lost their lives in the Second World War. This project was completed with the help and support of Elmbridge Borough Council, the Cobham Evening Women's Institute, Royal British Legion (Cobham Branch) and St Andrew's Church, Cobham. Further details of the unveiling of the memorial plaque can be found here.

Cobham's official war memorial listing all those who lost their lives in both World Wars is within the Memorial Chapel at St Andrew's Church, Downside Bridge Road, Cobham.

The Tilt Avenue of Remembrance is listed by the Imperial War Museum on its website which can be found here: www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/23222 

First Name Last Name Service Tree Number
Alfred Edward David Ashcroft Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 1
William John Bennell Royal Artillery 32
Patrick Morice Bennett Royal Horse Artillery 11
William George Blackman Royal Navy 23
George William Bush Royal Navy 31
Leslie Louis Christmas Grenadier Guards 30
Ion Brancovan Constant Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 4
Evelyn Arthur Crane Dawkins Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 22
Walter Martin Duffield York & Lancaster Regiment 44
Leonard Thomas Faulkner Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 19
John Stanley Fuller King's Regiment (Liverpool) 28
Stanley John Holman East Surrey Regiment 29
Roger Henry Charles Human Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry 20
Stuart Fraser Jackson Royal Army Service Corps 21
William Frederick Jaramillo Dorsetshire Regiment 42
Edward George Joyce Dorsetshire Regiment 27
Charles Godfrey Kendall Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 43
Fred Loxton Kendall East Surrey Regiment 33
Humphrey Oscar Coleridge Kennard Irish Guards 45
Desmond Ernest Kirkby Royal Navy 15
William Eric Knott Royal Armoured Corps. 40
Norman Adin Lavers Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 5
Donald MacDonald Gordon Highlanders 26
John Richard Marshall Royal Engineers 35
Paul Manfred Daniel Marx Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 16
George Alec Mead The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) 34
William Henry Mead Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 12
William, Alfred Oliver Royal Army Service Corps 36
Percy John Osbourne Royal Artillery 6
Douglas Allan Ottaway Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 10
Albert Edward Overton Royal Artillery 17
Edward Leslie John Perkins Royal Air Force 38
Jonathan Killingworth Punshon Royal Air Force 24
Edwin Curtis Redfern Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 14
Sidney Charles John Seymour East Surrey Regiment 25
Edward George Sherlock East Surrey Regiment 9
Frederick Sidaway East Surrey Regiment 7
Peter Warren Sykes Smallwood Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 39
Charles Graham Thompson Royal Navy 41
Frank Gerald Thomson Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 46
Horace James Tidy Royal Navy 18
Reginald Neville Walford Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 13
Frederick John Warner Royal Army Veterinary Corps 3
Sydney Edward Welsh Royal Navy 37
Hubert John Wilkinson Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 8
John Alfred Henry Woodgate Hampshire Regiment 2

 

Queens Award for Voluntary Service

Riverhill Greenflag Award

Green Flag Award

Open Spaces Award

Open Spaces Award