World War I memorial in Fovant, Wiltshire, England, UK
An aerial view of the badges, taken in 2010 before the YMCA badge had been renewed
The Fovant Badges are a set of regimental badges cut into a chalk hill, Fovant Down, near Fovant, in south-west Wiltshire, England. They are between Salisbury and Shaftesbury on the A30 road in the Nadder valley, and are approximately 1⁄2 mile (800 m) south-east of Fovant village. They were created by soldiers garrisoned nearby, and waiting to go to France, during the First World War; the first in 1916.[1] They are clearly visible from the A30 which runs through the village. Nine of the original twenty remain, and are scheduled ancient monuments and recognised by the Imperial War Museum as war memorials.[1] Further badges have been added more recently.
The Fovant Badge Society holds an annual Drumhead Service which is attended by the Australian High Commissioner, local mayors and members of parliament. These services fund the upkeep of the badges.
Construction
After the outlines were cut into the grass-covered hillsides, they were refilled with chalk brought from a nearby slope, up to 50 tons per badge.[1] The badges took an average fifty men six months to complete.[1]
The badges
From left: The Royal Corps of Signals, The Wiltshire Regiment and The London Rifle Brigade
Current badges
Reading left to right (north-east to south-west), the badges at Fovant are:[2]
An outline map of Australia on Compton Down was created by Australian troops garrisoned in Hurdcott Camp in the fields below, while training and awaiting transport to the battlefields. It is a scheduled monument.[17] After more than 20 years of neglect it was restored during 2018/19 by a local voluntary group called the Map of Australia Trust (MOAT) founded by Helen Roberts.[18] A remembrance service was held on the map on 25 April 2019, Anzac Day, to mark the restoration and to honour the Australian troops who had been accommodated locally. The service was attended by over 100 people including the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Sarah Troughton, the deputy Australian High Commissioner, Matt Anderson, and travelling from Australia, the daughter of a soldier who had been at Hurdcott Camp recovering from war wounds.[19] (51°03′43″N1°56′24″W / 51.061816°N 1.939990°W / 51.061816; -1.939990)
On Lamb Down, on the north side of the A36 between Codford and the Deptford interchange and about 9 miles north by west of Fovant, is a cutting of the Australian Commonwealth Military Force badge. It is less detailed than the one at Fovant.[citation needed] It was cut in 1916–1917. (51°03′54″N1°47′51″W / 51.064944°N 1.79738°W / 51.064944; -1.79738)
Near Barford St Martin, at the eastern end of the Fovant Encampment, was formerly the Finsbury Rifles badge. Little is known of this figure.[20]
^Capt E. G. Godfrey, The "Cast Iron Sixth": A History of the Sixth Battalion London Regiment (The City of London Rifles), London: Old Comrades' Association, 1935//Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, ISBN1-84342-170-4.
