The Kitchingman Monument

the Kitchingman Monument Peppardville [77,46] the Way Monument Mussell Way Russell Row a carpark the Kitchingman Monument Raikes Bank Nositer Drive Fire Station the Canning Motel Fort Creedy Infirmary Basic Info: A monument is a city block containing a statue or similar piece of public art, without a building in it. It is functionally equivalent to a street, except that players with the Tagging skill can gain 2 XP for writing graffiti on a monument. This is, game-play wise, an empty block, and cannot be barricaded. After the July 3, 2009 update, some monuments became tall and can be seen from a distance with binoculars

Description

Humans and zombies alike will see the following (permanent) description when standing in front of the monument:

"You are at the Kitchingman Monument, a granite cube that leans to one side."

History

Corporal Albert John Kitchingman served as a "doughboy" with the Malton County Reserves as part of the US Expeditionary Force in Europe in late 1917. When America entered the conflict in April 1917, it provided a welcome morale boost to the beleaguered Allied forces. Under direct orders from General John J Pershing himself, the Malton County Reserves were posted to the ancient port town of St. Nazaire. It was from here that a small scouting party of five men set out: Privates Postlethwaite, Duncan, Hoop and Spoutman set out on a routine patrol under the shaky command of newly promoted Corporal Kitchingman.

During heavy fog, the scouting party got lost and strayed into the path of an advance German convoy attempting a push to secure the port of St. Nazaire. Surrounded and incredibly outnumbered, Kitchingman rallied his meager troop and formulated a cunning plan. Using the fog as cover, the group ran from foxhole to forhole shouting, banging their mess tins and rattling their rifles. The German column, unable to see the source of the noise in the thick fog, panicked and hastily retreated back to their own lines assuming a large Allied presence.

Elated by their success, Kitchingman and his small troop made their way 'home' to their barracks - but Kitchingman himself never made it back. A stray shell from a lone German artillery piece exploded in front of the squad, and Albert took the brunt of the shrapnel, which killed him instantly. The others were wounded and shipped back to the States, and upon their return to Malton raised public awareness of this bravest of Malton's sons. In 1919 a marble statue was erected in his honor by the "Friends Of Malton".

The statue shows Albert Kitchingman, hand cupped to his mouth in a menacing shout. The plinth has a solemn soldier, head bowed, at each corner.

Every Armistice Day, a group from the local St Columbanus's Church lays a wreath of poppies in his memory.

• See also The Pers Monument.

---