Memorials St. Peter's Church

"Of your charity pray for the soul of
Captain C.J. Caffrey A.S.C
who died at Woolwich in the service
of his country 1st July 1916.
sacred heart of Jesus have mercy on him'
In loving memory of my dear husband
from his devoted wife Margaret Caffrey
R.I.P."

At the entrance to St Peter's Church is an information board detailing the churches history.
"In the early nineteen century it was unusual tom have a garrison near a town. When the country wasn't at war, the public tended to believe soldiers were there to shoot civilians. Woolwich was a roughhouse in the 1840s. In its sordid streets, fights between soldiers and the town were common. The military authorities decided that the practice of their religion might moderate the behaviour of the men of the Royal Artillery, many of whom were Catholics or Non-Comformist Protestants. They granted land in Woolwich New Road for the building of two churches- St Andrew's for Presbyterians, and St Peter's for Roman Catholics."
"The price of war on the doorstep had been considerable:
-1,604 high-explosive bombs
-82 flying bombs
-32 V2 Rockets
and thousands of incendiaries had brought death to 717 Woolwich people and injury to 5,207.
Out of a total of 38,000 houses in the Borough:
-1,670 were totally destroyed
-34,199 less so.
Thus, few houses escaped completely and a peak total of 2,700 had, by October 1945, made first aid repairs to 124,500 properties, the equivalent of repairing every house in the Borough three times."

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Source

• Text: Sharky Ward/Information Board
• Photos: Anthony (Sharky) Ward