SONS OF ENGLAND CROSS
In a quiet corner of Orchards a rough cross commemorates the battle of the Somme in WW1 that saw more than a million men killed. They included those of the 3rd infantry of the Transvaal Regiment who fell in October 1916. To mark their lives a giant cross was carved from an oak tree from the battlefield and shipped to South Africa. It moved to several sites but in
2012 it faced another enemy: poverty. To keep themselves warm, homeless people in Patterson Park wrenched the cross from the memorial to burn. Fortunately, Zoleka Mtobeni, a citizen with links to the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, happened to be passing by and rescued it from the ashes.
It can be viewed at the Orchards Project by appointment. Telephone 011- 622-8297