Plaque | War served | Other war

John Joseph Sims VC

Inscription

John Joseph Sims VC
Died 6th December 1881.
City of London Cemetery Heritage Trail

Site: John Joseph Sims VC (1 memorial)

E12, Gardens Way, City of London Cemetery

A walk through this cemetery in c.1870 is described on pages 52-57 of May Sinclair’s 1919 novel ‘Mary Olivier: A Life’.  Mary is taken by her mother in a small carriage to the Manor Park railway crossing. They walk across a section of Wanstead Flats, enter the cemetery via a black wooden door in a hedge, and walk through the cemetery to the “big gates” at the Leytonstone side, where the carriage picks them up. The first section of the cemetery is described as having no tombstones, there is a “clay-coloured plain furrowed into low mounds” with “small flat sticks at one end of each grave showing where the heads were”. “The mounds had a fresh, raw look, as if all the people in the City of London had died and been buried hurriedly the night before.”

In one area the mounds are bigger than the others and the party is told it’s the “pauper buryin’ ground” where “there’s five coffins in each of these here graves, piled one atop of the other”. Across a gravel path are tombstones, in the rich variety of forms that we are used to seeing.  The party reach the “grey chapel with pointed gables”.

This all suggests that a large part of the south-west section of the cemetery was being filled in with graves all at the same time. That strikes us as very odd. Wikipedia’s history of the cemetery does not help.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
John Joseph Sims VC

Subjects commemorated i

John Joseph Sims, VC

Soldier. A private in the 34th Regiment of Foot. On 18th June 1855 in Sebasto...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
John Joseph Sims VC

Created by i

City of London Cemetery Heritage Trail

A walk commemorating people buried in the cemetery.

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Hobby-horse bicycle

Hobby-horse bicycle

WC2, Long Acre, 75, Acre House

75 Long Acre was Denis Johnson's home and workshop. See modern day hobby-horse bicycles in Long Acre.

2 subjects commemorated, 3 creators
Dyers' Hall

Dyers' Hall

EC4, Upper Thames Street, Riverbank House

Riverbank House by David Walker Architects was completed in 2011.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Charing Cross Hospital - Agar Street

Charing Cross Hospital - Agar Street

WC2, Agar Street

We love the repeated "etc."s to indicate the Duke's excessively long list of honours, etc. (now we're at it!).

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Cooks' Hall - blue plaque

Cooks' Hall - blue plaque

EC1, Aldersgate Street, 10

2022: A London Inheritance drew our attention to the stamp and the text below.  Very few plaques credit their creators, so this on a City...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
National Sporting Club

National Sporting Club

WC2, King Street, 43, Thomas Archer House

In 1714 Russell was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty and that year he commissioned this house at 43 King Street from the architect T...

4 subjects commemorated, 2 creators