John Pennington Harman VC – his life, his family and their Chaldon legacy
By Ted Howard
The memorials to John P Harman VC have interested me for a long time but I was stimulated to research him and his family when I learned that a blue plaque commemorating his birth had been attached to the house of a relative in Beckenham. I was then fortunate to find that John Harman’s sister, who is nearly 90 years of age, is living in Marlborough. I contacted her and she agreed to meet me. I learned great deal from her about the Harman family which I have now documented.
William Harman, a carpenter and builder, the father of Martin Coles Harman and the grandfather of John, came from Hove to work on the Metropolitan Asylum, (St Lawrence’s Hospital), in Caterham in the late 1870’s. His first two children were born in Hove but the next nine were born in Chaldon Road, Caterham. Eventually the size of the family demanded a larger house and William bought land on the corner of Chaldon Common Road and Rook Lane. He built a large house which also had tennis courts and stables. It was named Dean’s Place after Dean’s Place Farm in Alfriston, Sussex, which was farmed by a great grandfather whose name was John Pennington.
Martin Coles Harman
William’s second son, Martin Coles Harman, was educated at Whitgift Middle School. He was very intelligent and left school at 15 years to join the financial firm of Lazard’s as a clerk. He mad rapid progress and had been appointed as a Director by the age of 33 years with considerable wealth. He moved from Beckenham, where his two sons were born, to Dean’s Place, Chaldon, in 1918.
Martin was very concerned about the threats of the urbanisation of Chaldon. He was elected as Chairman of the newly established Chaldon Rights of Way Committee in 1920 and the members walked, rode or drove carts along all of the appropriate footpaths and bridle ways in Chaldon. He defended footpaths against the complaints of local land owners and took the to the National Commons and Footpaths Preservation Society which had been founded by the government in 1865. He was successful in the ensuing arbitration.
In 1924 Martin bought 26 acres of land in the sale of the Hill Top Estate. He donated a portion of this land to the parish of Chaldon and made sure that it would be preserved for all time by giving it to the National Trust. The NT agreed to his request that he be allowed to place a circle of granite stones on the field as a memorial to him and his five brothers – hence the name of the Six Brothers Field. Martin also established Willey Broom Wood Path as a “Private Right of Way” and he was particularly concerned that children from the village school should be able to use the path that links Rook Lane with 5-Ways and so avoid the traffic on Rook Lane, which did not have pavements at that time.
In spite of his extensive business commitments and his work for Chaldon, Martin found time to purchase Lundy, the island in the Bristol Channel. He had been attracted to the island since a day trip when 18 years of age. His land agent who looked after the island from 1926 to 1966 was Felix Gade, a life-long friend. The two had been neighbours in their early days in Caterham.
Felix described Martin as a “man with a clear brain, courage, resolution and immense energy. A man who was patient, tolerant, unaffected and who showed great humility”. He certainly had firm ideas and issued both Lundy coins and stamps. He was fined £5 by the local magistrates for the former as the issuing of coins by a private person breached the Coinage Act of 1870, but the stamps are still in use today.
Martin Harman died of a heart attack at the age of 69 years whilst he was visiting Godstone in 1954.
John Pennington Harman VC
John P. Harman was born in Beckenham in 1914. He was educated in Bristol and Caterham, (Eothen school), before starting at Bedales school in Hampshire, which has been described as “a haven for non-conformists”. He was more interested in pursuing his love of nature than academic subjects and when he left school at 17 years he travelled the world as a lumberjack in New Zealand, a sheep farmer in Australia, and a gold prospector in South Africa. He joined the Household Cavalry at the beginning of the 2nd World War and transferred later to the Royal Fusiliers and finally to the West Kent regiment. It is said that he did not impress his seniors with his unmilitary appearance, but in fact did not have any burning ambition to become a commissioned army officer.
He volunteered to join the West Kents when they were about to move to Burma to fight the Japanese in their last great offensive, which was an attempt to invade India. John Harman’s fighting and leadership qualities were soon recognised in the jungle warfare and he was promoted to Lance-Corporal.
He lost his life during the Battle of Kohima, on the Assam border with Burma. This was eventually recognised as the key battle in Burma which stopped the Japanese from reaching India. Lord Mountbatten said “The battle of Kohima will probably go down as one of the greatest battles in history. It was in effect the Battle of Burma.”
John Harman was in the thick of the fighting. On the 8th April he single handedly captured a Japanese machine gun position and took the gun back to his post. He performed a similar act of bravery the next day, when again he single handedly overcame 5 of the enemy, but whilst making his way back to his men he was fatally shot. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for outstanding bravery and the medal was eventually given by his father, Martin Harman, to the museum of the West Kent Regiment.
Memorials to John Harman VC, are found at Chaldon church, Caterham school, (from Eothen school after the merger of the two schools), and on Lundy, the island he loved so much. His grave is at Kohima.
I believe that Chaldon should always remember the Harman family in what they did both for the parish of Chaldon and for their country. The historical links of our village with Lundy and the epic Kohima battle should never be forgotten.