TracesOfWar.com

The Mareth Cross

(UK: England - Greater London - London)

This memorial was built after the Battle of Mareth (a place in the Tunisian-Lybische border) by men of the 6th Battalion Grenadier Guards. They launched in the night of March 16, 1943 an attack against the German 90. Infantry Division. It would be the most devastating attack of the whole process of war for the battalion. This cross was built of local stone and placed on the cemetery. Later the graves were transferred to a permanent war cemetery and the memorial stood a long time in the middle of the desert. The stone was damaged by local Arabs and therefore it was removed in 1957. After the restoration the cross moved to the All Saints Church. On May 21, 1995 the cross was moved to the Guards Chapel in St. James Park in London.

Source

• Text: Pieter Schlebaum
• Photos: Pieter Schlebaum