Victorian church painting leading to a tragedy of the Great War

MINSTER’S WONDERS: Church records have given more information on local family histories. By DAVID MORGAN

Croydon Minster maintains an extensive archive, which includes many paintings from the church. One of these recently discovered works is dated 1875. It is the first part of a journey through the history of Croydon that leads to one of the many tragedies of the First World War.

The artist, painting from a position in what would now be the middle of the two-lane road on the Roman road, captured the gray color of the stone facade and gives us a view of what the cemetery looked like at the ‘era. In front of the church, unlike the busy road there is today, appears to be a rural country road.

Outside the west main gate stands a tree, very old, judging by the circumference of the trunk.

Hint: the handwritten label on the back of the board gives vital information

If we turn the painting over, on the back there are more clues about its origin and leads to the artist’s story.

There is an inscription with the artist’s name, “Mr Litolff”, and a sentence showing that he was presented to the church by the artist’s grand-nephew in 1960.

My search to learn more about the artist ended with the discovery of the death of a Lance Corporal of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps in 1916.

The local Croydon directories provide details on the Litolff family.

In 1851 AA Litolff was listed as a piano maker at 111 Church Street. In 1866, AA Litolff was called a “music teacher”. In this entry, his son, AAJ Litolff, was also listed as living at the same address. He has been described as an engineer.

A little more research, and we can put names to the more formal Victorian initials.

The father was Augustus Alexander Litolff, his son Augustus Alexander James.

AAJ subsequently had a son, David James, who by the turn of the 20th century was listed as living at 4 Drummond Road. Later he, his wife Eliza and their son, Alexander David, moved to Pembury, Chelsham Road.

Alexander David Litolff, born January 10, 1897 in Drummond Road. After attending Archbishop Tenison’s school, he became a student teacher at Dering Place School in South Croydon, which is now Howard Primary School. In September 1915 he enrolled at Goldsmith’s College to continue his teacher training, but soon after enlisted to serve in the Great War, joining the Kings Royal Rifle Corps, 21st Battalion.

After his first military training, Litolff and his new comrades embarked for France at the beginning of May 1916, embarking at Le Havre at 8:30 am on the morning of May 6. It was a Saturday. Lance Corporal Litolff only survived a few weeks on the front lines. He was severely gassed and died on August 9, 1916. He had five months left before his 20th birthday.

Memorial: the brass plaque at Howard Elementary School, which includes the name of student teacher Alex Litolff

His battalion’s official war diary indicates that on that date they relieved the 15th Battalion Hampshire Regiment over part of Flanders known as Ploegsteert Wood, which is part of the Ypres Salient. Litolff’s unit, the KRRC, was in position at 6.30am.

By the end of 1916, gas was often used as a weapon in this area, with alarms going off regularly. When the attack took place that day, the stretcher bearers could take Litolff no further than a field ambulance, where he died. He is buried in the Ferme Olivier cemetery in Belgium.

The young aspiring teacher was mourned in Croydon and beyond. His name has been engraved on several commemorative monuments. He is remembered on the Goldsmiths College plaque in New Cross. His name was on the brass plaque of his local church, Bartlett Street Methodist Church, but this memorial was moved to South Croydon United Church, Aberdeen Road, in 1977.

This brass plaque is particularly poignant because it was erected by the teachers and children of the church’s Sunday school. “Alex” was a “scholar, a valuable helper, and a church member.”

The Vicar of Croydon, Reverend Pat McCormick, himself a Great War chaplain, unveiled a plaque at Dering Place School containing the names of young men who lost their lives and who had been scholars there, as well as two of their teachers. Alexander Litolff is on this list as a student teacher.

This ceremony took place on June 21, 1921. The memorial can still be seen today in the school hall, as it was restored and blessed as part of the school’s centenary celebrations in 1998.

As for the exact identity of the artist who signed the church painting, it remains uncertain.

It seems very likely that it was Alexander’s grandfather, but I have no absolute proof. Given the artistic skills required to produce the 1875 Croydon Church painting, “Mr. Litolff” surely painted other scenes and landscapes. Maybe they still adorn someone’s wall or have they been neglected and ended up in an attic?

Nonetheless, the discovery of a Victorian painting revealed another story. I suspect there could still be more.

Read more: The burning of the church that consumed a thousand years of history
Read more: The Miller’s Tale of Mendelssohn’s Visit and a Life of Music

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