Sculptor Simon Smith on the left behind Mr
Vickers , who was born in the camp in 1920
(Photo courtesy of Cllr Jackie Porter)
Morn Hill Camp - TrustNews March 15
In The Great War, several important military camps were established around Winchester. The largest of these, at Morn Hill, was at first a tented camp accommodating soldiers returning from east of Suez as reinforcements for the Western Front. They suffered badly in appalling winter weather leading to the camp being abandoned, the troops being found accommodation in the City.
Later, huts were built for what had become a large transit site as the camp extended eastward across the downs. Still later, from November, 1917, the greater part of Morn Hill was occupied by the American army who also built a 250 bed hospital. By 1918, the huge camp with a capacity of about 50,000, was served by a railway siding extending to about 2.5 miles from the Winchester - Newbury line.
At the end of the war, the Mayor of Winchester stated that about two million troops had been associated with the city and the surrounding area. It was then suggested then that a Memorial should be provided to mark the fact that so many soldiers from Britain, the Empire, the United States and other Allied Nations came through the area - many never to return home.
That was not done and it was not until 2012 that a committee of local people was formed to redress that omission. The aim was “To Honour a Promise".
Sculptor Simon Smith on the left behind Mr Vickers, who was born in the camp in 1920 (Photo courtesy of Cllr Jackie Porter)
Fund-raising, including grant-aid from the City and County Councils led to sufficient money being received to commission a noted London sculptor - Simon Smith - to design and carve a suitable Memorial. The brief called for a bench seat in Portland limestone mounted with accurate representations of the equipment such as would have been carried by the troops passing through the City.
The ?nished work was placed within the courtyard of the Great Hall with the unveiling being performed by HRH the Duke of Gloucester on Armed Forces Day 2014.