Tag Archives: Surrey

‘We Knew You Were Coming’

Victoria Cross in Surrey

This blog post took its genesis from a family friend who kindly lent me a fascinating booklet produced by The Maldens and Coombe Heritage Society that details the exceptional proportion of Victoria Cross medals that were awarded to military who hailed from this particular corner of Surrey. Interestingly, there were three Victoria Cross medal recipients from the New Malden area. To put that in perspective, there are only two other places in the world that share the same accolade and those are: Carluke in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and Euroa, near Melbourne, Australia. However, of the three, New Malden is the only town with no separate commemorative site, statue or memorial to visit.

Continue reading ‘We Knew You Were Coming’

Richard Dadd Exhibition at the Watts Gallery

Richard Dadd Watts Gallery

‘He was considered a violent and dangerous patient (…) After he killed his father, his rooms were searched and a portfolio was found containing likenesses of many of his friends all with their throats cut.’

So artist Richard Dadd’s condition was described in his Casenotes from Bethlem, a psychiatric hospital, in 1854.

Richard Dadd Watts Gallery

Continue reading Richard Dadd Exhibition at the Watts Gallery