The Fovant Badges are a set of regimental badges cut into a

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

hill, Fovant Down, near Fovant, in south-west

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England. They are between

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

and

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury and north-northeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hi ...

on the

A30 road The A30 is a major road in England, running WSW from London to Land's End. The road has been a principal axis in Britain from the 17th century to early 19th century, as a major coaching route and post road. It used to provide the fastest r ...

in the Nadder valley, and are approximately 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. They are clearly visible from the A30 which runs through the village. Nine of the original twenty remain, and are

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

s and recognised by the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

s. 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. The badges took an average fifty men six months to complete.

The badges

Current badges

Reading left to right (north-east to south-west), the badges at Fovant are: # Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (only central part remaining) #

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, restored in 2018. # 6th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (City of London Rifles) (claimed to be the first of the badges cut here) # Australian Commonwealth Military Forces (the largest, 51 m × 32 m) #

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

(cut in 1970 to commemorate the Corps' 50th anniversary) #

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. T ...

(added in 1950) # 5th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade) # 8th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Post Office Rifles) #

Remembrance poppy A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, which exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to g ...

, added in 2016 to commemorate the centenary of the first badge #

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...

Lost badges

Several of the lost badges were short-lived, small and crudely constructed. #

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

, possibly on the site of where Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry is now. #

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

# Queen Victoria's Rifles # 35th Training Battalion # 'Dingo' # Post Office Rifles 'POR' letters, possibly there prior to the current Post Office Rifles figure. # 7th Battalion of the City of London Regiment (there is also a figure for this regiment in Sutton Mandeville) # 9th

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

# 37th Training Battalion #

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

Nearby badges

* The previously unrestored military badge at Sutton Down of the

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

was restored during 2017 and spring 2018 by volunteers of the Sutton Mandeville Heritage Trust. It was supported by a grant from the National Lottery and the restored badge was inaugurated on 3 May 2018 by

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. The elder son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, he is a grandson of George ...

, Colonel-in-Chief of the

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as, "The Fusiliers") is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an ...

, the successor to the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. () * The nearby badge of 7th Battalion, The London Regiment remains unrestored. () * 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 In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. 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. A remembrance service was held on the map on 25 April 2019,

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

, 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 This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of the English county of Wiltshire. From 1750, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Wiltshire. Lord Lieutenants of Wiltshire * William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke 1 ...

, 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. () * 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. It was cut in 1916–1917. () * Near Barford St Martin, at the eastern end of the Fovant Encampment, was formerly the Finsbury Rifles badge. Little is known of this figure. * At

Bulford Camp Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about north-east of the town of Amesb ...

is the

Bulford Kiwi The Bulford Kiwi is a large depiction of a kiwi, carved in the chalk on Beacon Hill above the military town of Bulford on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It was created in 1919 by soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force who wer ...

, another military hill figure (though not a badge).

References

External links

Fovant Badge Society
{{Coord, 51.0534, -1.9783, type:landmark_region:GB-WIL, display=title Hill figures in England Military history of Wiltshire World War I memorials in England Scheduled monuments in Wiltshire Tourist attractions in Wiltshire Monuments and memorials in Wiltshire