Remembering the Fallen

 

Deptford’s Fallen: Remembering Those Who Served in the First World War

The Brockley & Ladywell Memorial commemorates 165 men from Deptford lost in the Great War.

The Brockley & Ladywell War Memorial: A Lasting Tribute

On a quiet stretch of Brockley Grove, the Brockley & Ladywell War Memorial stands as a poignant and enduring reminder of Deptford’s sacrifice during the First World War. Carved into its screen walls and tablets are the names of 165 servicemen who lost their lives between 1914 and 1918 — sons, brothers, neighbours, and friends whose absence left an indelible mark on the community.

 
 
 

 
 
Deptford, a working-class district with strong ties to the docks and river, saw many of its young men enlist in the army, navy, and emerging service branches. The memorial’s panels record their names, acting both as a communal ledger of loss and a place for reflection. Although ages at death are not consistently recorded in publicly accessible sources, each name represents a life interrupted and a future left unrealised. The memorial serves to remind us that these men were individuals, not merely numbers.
The Brockley & Ladywell Memorial is more than a list of names. It provides a tangible link between past and present, connecting modern visitors to the families, streets, and workplaces of Deptford from a century ago. Through research into the names, insight can be gained into the lives, regiments, and service histories of local men, helping to preserve their stories for future generations. By visiting, photographing, and documenting these panels, we ensure that Deptford’s contribution to the First World War will always be remembered.
 
 

 

A short dedication.

We remember the men of Deptford not as statistics, but as neighbours, co-workers, and friends. Each name on the memorials connects us to a life lived, a family affected, and a community shaped by sacrifice. Let us pause, reflect, and ensure that their memory endures.

A Personal Pilgrimage to Tyne Cot Cemetery

Visiting Tyne Cot Cemetery is a humbling experience. Among thousands of headstones, each representing a life given in courage and sacrifice, I had a personal quest: to find a grave that shared my initials and surname.

AARON WHITE

I found it—a headstone with my initial and surname—and standing there, I felt an unexpected connection across time, a bond with a soldier I will never meet on this earth but whose bravery and presence resonates with me deeply.

In that moment, I wrote this poem:

I came to Tyne Cot to see the men,

who gave their lives so bravely then,

I walked to a place I knew was there,

among the gravestones that looked so bare,

except a headstone which shared my name,

initials and surname was the same,

I hope to meet you yet again,

brave soldier who shared my name.

God Bless You.

© 2025 Andrew White

Tyne Cot is a place of remembrance, reflection, and connection. That single headstone reminded me that history isn’t just in books—it lives in names, in stories, and in the hearts of those who remember.

 

HIstory of Mary Ann Buildings - Gardens

 

Not long after I first published my post about Mary Ann Buildings, I received a lovely message from a reader named Kevin, who kindly shared a personal connection to the place:

Hi Andy,

Following your post and pictures of Mary Ann's Buildings, I thought I would share a photo I found of my Mum — mid-50s, I think — standing in front of the gate shown in the second picture down on your post. You can see the sign above the gate in both pictures. Happy for the photo to be shared!

Best regards

Kevin

Kevins Mum.

Here is an indepth History of  Mary Ann Buildings. Theres a link below to the original post.

Mary Ann Buildings, Deptford: The Lost Street Behind St Paul’s

Nestled in the historic heart of Deptford, just behind St Paul’s Church and between Albury Street and Deptford High Street, lies a small cul-de-sac known today as Mary Ann Gardens. To the casual passer-by, this quiet residential corner may seem unremarkable, but its name preserves the memory of an earlier landscape — Mary Ann Buildings, a once-vibrant pocket of working-class housing that tells a story of London’s shifting urban fortunes.

A Georgian Neighbourhood Grows

The area around what became Mary Ann Gardens developed rapidly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Deptford — then a bustling riverside town — was home to dockyards, chandlers, shipwrights and labourers. Streets like Union Street (now Albury Street) and Queen Street (now Lamerton Street) were laid out as part of a growing suburb that served the nearby Royal Dockyard and the Thames shipping trade.

Within this grid of narrow streets appeared Mary Ann Buildings, a modest terrace of small workers’ cottages. Their name followed a common convention of the period, when new speculative developments were often given genteel or personal names to distinguish them — perhaps after a family member or the developer’s wife, “Mary Ann.”

Life in Mary Ann Buildings

By the mid-19th century, census records and social surveys depicted Mary Ann Buildings as densely populated but industrious. Small trades flourished here — costermongers, labourers, and dock workers shared the cramped houses. According to social historians, the area was “well known for housing slaughterhouse girls,” referring to the women employed in the local meat trades that surrounded the market and High Street.

Like much of Deptford, the street reflected both the hardship and vitality of working-class London. Children played in courtyards while residents fetched water from shared pumps. St Paul’s Church — a short walk away — offered a spiritual centre amidst the noise of the High Street and the docks.

Decline and Clearance

By the early 20th century, conditions in parts of Deptford had deteriorated. Overcrowding, poor sanitation, and industrial decline left many of the older houses in disrepair. Urban reformers and local councils began to clear entire streets to make way for new housing schemes.

The Deptford High Street and St Paul’s Conservation Area Appraisal notes that Mary Ann Buildings, along with the southern terrace of nearby Albury Street, was cleared in the 20th century. The replacement was a low-rise post-war development, consistent with the planning ideals of the 1950s and 1960s, which sought open space, greenery, and light in contrast to the dense terraces they replaced.

Mary Ann Gardens Today

Today’s Mary Ann Gardens occupies roughly the same footprint as the former Buildings. The cul-de-sac comprises modest, mixed-tenure housing — low-rise flats and houses surrounded by mature trees. From the street, one can still sense the layered history of the area: Albury Street’s ornate Georgian doorcases stand a few steps away, and the spire of St Paul’s Church dominates the skyline, linking past and present.

Modern property data suggests that most of the current housing dates from around 1970, though the site retains fragments of earlier boundary lines visible on historic Ordnance Survey maps. It is a quiet corner, but one deeply rooted in Deptford’s working-class heritage.

Remembering the Lost Streets

Mary Ann Buildings may no longer exist in name, but its memory endures in the maps, archives, and oral histories of Deptford. It represents a familiar London story — of industrial growth, social struggle, and urban renewal.

In the words of one local historian, “to walk through Mary Ann Gardens is to tread on the ghost lines of the city’s hidden lives.” The surviving name on the street sign stands as a small but enduring tribute to the people who once made their homes in the shadow of the docks, shaping a neighbourhood that still bears their mark.

References & Further Reading

• Lewisham Council. Deptford High Street and St Paul’s Church Conservation Area Appraisal (2021).

• The City Within the City — Urban History dissertation, University of Central Lancashire (2019).

• Layers of London historic maps (Rocque, Greenwood, OS 1870 editions).

• Streetlist.co.uk — “Mary Ann Gardens SE8: Street and Property Data.”

• Old Deptford History blog (archival posts and photographic comparisons).

About the Author

By Andy
Andy is a historian and writer with a focus on South East London’s urban and social history. Their research explores the transformation of neighbourhoods like Deptford, Greenwich, and Bermondsey — tracing how working-class communities, architecture, and industry shaped London’s modern identity.

https://www.olddeptfordhistory.com/2014/05/mary-ann-buildings-circa-1960s.html