Plaque Wording: Mydiddee A native of Tahiti. Sailed to England with Captain William Bligh in HMS Providence. Died in Deptford, 4th September 1793.
Stranger with solemn step approach and know, A fav'rite son of nature sleeps below. From that fam'd queen of southern isles he came, fair Otahytey, fir'd by British fame: And Providence each deep safe wafted o'er, Yet only gave to hail the promis'd shore; For here could life alas! no more supply, Than just to look around him and to die.
Edward Harwood, surgeon of the Providence.

Plaque Wording: This plaque has been dedicated by the Pepys community in memory of David Ivan O'Hara 1931-1992 who in his last years dedicated himself to the community and the projects of the community of the Pepys Estate

Plaque Wording: The Pepys Estate was opened on 13th July 1966 by Admiral of the Fleet, The Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG.
The Estate, built by the Greater London Council, stands on the site of the Royal Victoria Dockyard, founded over 400 years ago. Here Samuel Pepys, Secretary of the Royal Navy, ordered the fitting out of the fleet for the Dutch Wars and here through the centuries British warships were built and rigged.
This is now dedicated to the peaceful enjoyment & wellbeing of Londoners.

Plaque Wording: Victualling Department Admiralty
This plaque commemorates the closing of the Royal Victoria Yard in 1961 after 219 years of service to the Royal Navy. This terrace and adjacent colonnade were part of the Victualling Yard, Deptford, built on a site of 35 acres purchased from the Evelyn Estate in 1742. The yard was re-named the Royal Victoria Yard in 1858 by gracious permission of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

Plaque Wording: above the bowl: To George Webster, MD, JP, 1877
below the bowl: To commemorate his long and varied services both public and private during a residence of 30 years in Dulwich this fountain is erected from the contributions of many friends and neighbours of every station. He died 19th Novr. 1876 aged 78 years.

Plaque Wording: Whales in the Thames
[top centre] Occasionally whales and seals are seen in the Thames. Since 1986 Common Seals have been spotted as far up as Richmond. A Lesser Rorqual Whale has been seen as well as a Bottle-Nosed Dolphin which was stranded at East India Dock. Such incidents have offered exciting distractions for the people of London over many centuries. [top left] Several incidents of whales in the Thames were recorded by John Evelyn, Deptford's famous 17th century diarist. In 1658 he noted that "a large whale was taken betwixt my land abutting on the Thames and Greenwich, which drew an in the concourse to sea it, by water, coach and on foote. It appeared first below Greenwich at low water, for at high water it would have destroyed all the boats.
[top right] After a long conflict it was killed with a harping yron, struck in the head, out of which spouted blood and water by two tunnels and after a horrid groan it ran quite on shore and died." Again in 1699 Evelyn wrote "After an extraordinary storm there came up the Thames a whale fifty-six feet long". In 1842 the capture of a young fin whale about 20 feet long provided quite an attraction. It was killed off Deptford Pier one Sunday by a number of watermen and its two ton body was displayed at the Bull and Butcher public house on the corner of Old King Street nearby. A printer in Flagon Row, Deptford quickly printed up some bills to advertise this "Extraordinary and Surprising Novelty" for sight-seers.
In 1965 there was great excitement when a school of about 20 whales was sighted off Woolwich pier. Billy Smart's Circus tried to catch one and enlisted the support of skin-divers, a gigantic fishing net and a rubber dingy {stet} to inflate under the unfortunate captive. They planned to take the whale to a temporary pool on Clapham Common then to a permanent aquarium at Windsor. All was frustrated when a policeman pointed out that anything caught in the Thames becomes property of the Queen and under the Whaling Industry Act you cannot catch a whale in British waters. The whale catchers were last seen edging the whales out of the river, hoping to catch one in the open sea.

Plaque Wording: The grave beneath this yew tree is that of ten workmen who died in a fall from the roof of the Crystal Palace during its reconstruction at Sydenham on 15th August 1853.
The Kentish Mercury and Home Counties Advertiser carried a detailed account of the "frightful accident": On Monday afternoon, shortly after 2 o'clock, one of the most frightful and fatal accidents by the falling of scaffolding occurred at the works of the new Crystal Palace, and which has resulted in the death of 12 men, and severe injuries to others. A very large mass of framework, apparently of great strength, had fallen from its position, some 180 feet high, carrying with it part of the girders and several columns of the north side of the nave. The staging had fallen inwards in the direction of the central nave, carrying with it a vast quantity of iron and woodwork. Six of the poor men were picked up quite dead close to each other, the position in which they were found indicating they must have fallen at an angle of something like forty degrees. Three others were found dead at a short distance, and one poor fellow lived for a few moments, but was not sufficiently collected to give any explanation of how the accident occurred. The precise cause of the disaster will probably never be discovered.
The funeral of the workmen was a big occasion. The Kentish Mercury describes it: The funeral took place on Thursday afternoon (18 August 1853) in the churchyard of New Sydenham Church - an elegant modern structure, embosomed in luxuriant foliage, and situated in a most romantic spot. The day was observed as a solemn holiday in the district, and there was a total cessation of all work within the Palace. The mournful procession formed in the central nave, and as the clock chimed three it slowly emerged from the building and wended its way along the beautiful road which conducts to the church. Each coffin was followed by its own particular mourners and at the rear of the last came the whole body of the workmen, numbering some thousand persons. In its course the procession was swelled by fresh additions, until when it reached the church there must have been between 2000 and 3000 persons following.

Plaque Wording: In memory of [ten names] Who died 15th August 1853 by a fall from the roof of the Crystal Palace. Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world have mercy on us. [Around perimeter:] In the midst of life we are in death for of whom may we seek for succour but of thee O lord.

Plaque Wording: DEPTFORD'S TRIBUTE TO HER GALLANT SONS WHO WERE FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH 1914-1918 1939-1945

Plaque Wording: Sir Francis Drake
In 1581 Queen Elizabeth I commanded that Francis Drake's ship, The Golden Hinde, be drawn into a creek near here at Deptford as a perpetual memorial for having "circuited about the whole earth."
On 4 April 1581, she banqueted on board the Golden Hind and "consecrated it with great ceremonie, pompe, and magnificence eternally to be remembered." And forthwith knighted Drake on his ship in recognition of the honouyr that he had brought to England by his discoveries and circumnavigation in the years 1577 - 1580.
His achievements included discovery of open sea from Atlantic to Pacific below South America: opening of English trade in the Far East: and claim to the Western region of North America for England. Naming it Nova Albion (New England) and thereby linking it with claims to the east coast and encouraging subsequent colonization of the Eastern seaboard.
Drake's voyage fostered the principle expressed by the Queen "That the VSE of the sea as of the Ayre is common to all. And that the publique necessitie permits not it should be possessed."
Presented by The Drake Navigators Guild, California. Quadricentennial, 4 April 1981

Plaque Wording: This building and its contents being a portion of a gift from Frederick John Horniman MP to the London County Council as representing the people of London, are dedicated to the public for ever as a free museum for their recreation, instruction & enjoyment. 1901