Memorial To Captain Charles Claudius De La Poer Beresford, Royal Engineers

991/0/10061 FARNBOROUGH ROAD 19-MAY-10 (East side) Memorial to Captain Charles Claudius d e la Poer Beresford, Royal Engineers

II A stone memorial drinking fountain, erected in the 1930s.

The fountain consists of a four stage stone monument; an arched pedestal on a block base supports an inscribed stone dedication, topped by an arch and pediment. The dedications reads: 'Near this spot on the 30th May 1910 Capt Charles Claudius de la Poer Beresford Royal Engineers was killed in a brave attempt to stop a runaway horse'.

HISTORY: Building began on Aldershot Barracks in 1856, and the lack of a surrounding wall, formerly considered necessary for separateness and security, was an innovation, marking a change from the Army's earlier civil policing role. Aldershot included some of the earliest examples of a garrison church, library and gymnasium, but today the overall plan of the earlier camp has been lost to post-war redevelopment.

Capt Charles Claudius De La Poer Beresford RE (1879-1910), awarded the Queen South Africa Medal in 1899-1902, became second Lieutenant Royal Engineers in 1899 and a Lieutenant in 1901. He served in South Africa from 1901-1902 and became a Captain in 1908. He was killed on 30th May 1910 trying to stop a runaway horse on what is now the A325. His memorial is located near the spot where he died, which was at that time opposite the Officers Stables at Albuhera Barracks. The memorial is not repeated on any Ordnance Survey maps before 1934, and therefore is assumed to have been erected shortly after that date.

SOURCES Douet J, British Barracks 1600-1914 Their Architecture and Role in Society (1998) 130-133 English Heritage, Barracks Thematic List Review (1993) 19

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The Memorial to Capt Charles Claudius de la Poer Beresford, Royal Engineers, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Historic Interest: in commemorating a brave and selfless heroic act at a time when horses still played an important role in the military. * Design Interest: An robustly designed water fountain of robust stone and special interest as a piece of street furniture.