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The
Village of Coulsdon
The
village of Coulsdon dates back to ancient time,
the first Deed for Curedesdone being granted by
King Frithwald in the year 675. The
Doomsday Book records that in 1086 there was a
church and 55 people living in the village of
Colesdone.
Today, according to local records, the
correct phonetic pronunciation of Coulsdon is
actually Coalsden.
Between
1915 and 1965 there existed the Coulsdon &
Purley Urban District with Farleigh joining in
1933.
A coat of arms was granted in 1953 (now
obsolete) with the moto: Ad Summa Pergamus (let us
press on to the highest). In 1965
this Urban District was absorbed into the London
Borough of Croydon.
The
Great War
As
troops and other servicemen returned home after
the end of the Great War there was severe hardship
and poverty across the land. Many of
the servicemen banded together in comradeship for
mutual support in these hard
times.
A great
many ex-servicemen were disillusioned by their
experiences during the war and in particular the
way their leaders threw men into the firing line
without thought of safety. Many
singled out General Haig as the main perpetrator
of this callous slaughter of British and Empire
troops with the Battle of the Somme singled out as
their darkest hour.
Towards
to end of the Great War and in the following
years, several non-political associations were
formed representing the rights of ex-service men
and women.
Prior to the formation of the British
Legion in May 1921 there were four main
associations; The National Association of
Discharged Sailors and Soldiers (1916). The
British National Federation of Discharged and
Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers. The
Comrades of the Great War (1917) and the Officers’
Association (1920). The
amalgamation of these four organisations in 1922
formed the nucleus of the British Legion as we
know it today.
Formation of the
Club
In
1919, the Coulsdon Branch of the Comrades of the
Great War (1919) Limited was formed on the present
site in the centre of the village of
Coulsdon.
The first President of the Club was Mr
Alfred Patchett and members met in a large wooden
shed which was their meeting place for some
years.
The wooden hut was demolished in 1933 to
make way for the existing frontage of the
Club.
The
new building was officially opened by Admiral
Willam
E Goodenough KGCB, MVO who live at Parson’s
Pightle in Old Coulsdon. Admiral
Goodenough commanded the Light Cruiser Squadron
that sighted the German Grand Fleet leading to the
Battle of Jutland. He is
buried at St John’s Church and a local street
called Admiral’s Walk is named in his
honour.
After
the end of the Great War, the now Field Marshal
the Earl Haig became deeply involved in the
welfare of the survivors of that conflict devoting
the remainder of his life to championing their
cause.
There was much talk of political unrest in
the nation and the government sought to under-mind
this swelling of dissent by promoting the
unification of the multitude of
ex-servicemen’s clubs into a single more
controllable body. With
the support of Field Marshall Haig a new unifying
organisation was formed in 1921 called the British
Legion.
Many ex-servicemen’s clubs, including some
Comrades Clubs amalgamated with or became
affiliated to the Royal British
Legion.
In
a number of cases the memories of the Great War
were just too great to allow some ex-servicemen to
be linked in any way General Haig and they decided
to remain totally independent of the newly formed
British Legion. To this
day that remains the case with the Coulsdon Branch
of the Comrades of the Great War Club. The Club
is proudly independent of all other such clubs and
organisations and is not a members of the Club and
Institute Union known as the CIU.
Updated - 29 Oct
09
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