Reasons for Designation
The Memorial to Lt Reginald Archibald Cammell, ABRE, of c1911 is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historical Interest: As commemorating a pioneer of military aviation, and marking the esteem in which he was held by fellow aviators.
* Design Interest: As a dignified memorial of good quality workmanship and materials.
* Group Value: With the RC Garrison Church of St Michael and St George, and St Andrew's Church of Scotland, (both Grade II) which are opposite the memorial.
Details
991/0/10065 QUEEN'S AVENUE
19-MAY-10 (West side)
Memorial to Lieutenant Reginald Archib
ald Cammell, Air Battalion Royal Engin
eers
II
A Portland stone memorial erected 1911 or soon after.
The memorial comprises an obelisk set on a plinth with an inscribed panel on the front which reads: 'In memory of Lieutenant Reginald Archibald Cammell, Air Battalion Royal Engineers who lost his life while flying an aeroplane in Hendon on the 17th September 1911. This Obelisk was erected by his brother Officers in recognition of his services to military aviation'.
HISTORY: In 1852 Aldershot became the first permanent training ground for the Army. Here the new railways could provide easy access to London, the main ports and arsenals. By 1856 North and South Camps, (later to become Stanhope and Marlborough Lines) had been erected. Permanent barracks, named the Wellington Lines, were built between September 1854 and 1859. The lack of a security wall around the barracks was an innovation and emphasised the difference between Aldershot and the civil policing role of previous barracks. Aldershot was the first of the large-scale camps, and it included some of the earliest examples of garrison church, library and gymnasium. Today the overall plan of the camp has been lost to post-war redevelopment.
Lieutenant Reginald Archibald Cammell was commissioned on 25th July 1906 and later joined the Army Air Battalion in 1908. He was involved in test flying early aircraft over Salisbury Plain, notably the Bleriot monoplane in 1910 and 1911. He was one of only three officers in the Air Battalion who qualified in all forms of aircraft, balloons, man-lifting kites and aeroplanes. He died in September 1911 when he crashed a new design of aircraft, the Valkyrie, which had recently been issued to the army and is buried in Aldershot Military Cemetery.
SOURCES:
Douet J, British Barracks 1600-1914 their Architecture and Role in Society (1998), 130-133
English Heritage, Barracks Thematic List Review (1993) 19
History of early aviation (Early Aviators website); and Reginald Archibald Cammell, biographical notes (Early Aviators website)
http://www.earlyaviators.com/ecammel1.htm (accessed, 25/10/09)
Guide to the Aldershot Military Cemetery from Rushmoor Borough Council website
http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/media/adobepdf/i/a/aldmilitarycemetery.pdf
(accessed, 25/10/09)
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
The Memorial to Lt Reginald Archibald Cammell, ABRE, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historical Interest: As commemorating a pioneer of military aviation, and marking the esteem in which he was held by fellow aviators.
* Design Interest: As a dignified memorial of good quality workmanship and materials.
* Group Value: With the RC Garrison Church of St Michael and St George, and St Andrew's Church of Scotland, (both Grade II) which are opposite the memorial.
This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 6 December 2016.
