Last Friday, after I had done the supermarket shop and before collecting the Old Bat from her session at the MS Centre, I dropped into Kingston Buci. This is now part of Shoreham-by-Sea but was once a settlement in its own right. Indeed, it is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1088 and St Julian's church dates from the 11th century.
While wandering around the churchyard looking for the best angle for photographing the church, I stumbled across a group of five war graves, all dating from 1918. It struck me as particularly poignant that the last of them records the death of a South African soldier just a couple of weeks after the war had ended. Serjeant Dexter had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, then the second highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy for non-commissioned soldiers and often considered a 'near miss' for the Victoria Cross. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find out what he did to earn this medal.
No comments:
Post a Comment