On the wall, to the left of the cross is a bronze plaque that is inscribed:
"Battle of Mareth
On the night of 16th March 1943, the 6th battalion Grenadier Guards, commanded by Lieut-Colonel A.F.L. Clive DSO. MC, was ordered to attack a formidable and prepared position on the frontier between Libya and Tunisia. The attack was carried out by moonlight across a deep wadi, two successive minefields and against a strongly entrenched enemy, mainly the celebrated German 90th Light Division. Although unknown to the battalion, surprise had been compromised by the capture of a marked map from another unit. All objectives were reached. The immense number of closely laid mines and the resulting very heavy casualties prevented support weapons reaching the forward positions during the night, and without these, effective defence against counter-attack became impossible. The battalion was ordered to withdraw at first light. Of the 29 officers who went into battle 14 were killed, 5 wounded and 5 taken prisoner of whom 2 were wounded. 65 other ranks were killed, 88 wounded and 104 taken prisoner of whom the majority were wounded.
History records this as one of the greatest and most terrible battles fought by the regiment in the Second World War."
The plaque to the right of the cross, also made from bronze, is inscribed:
"The Mareth Cross
After the battle, the pioneers of the 6th battalion built this memorial cross from local stone, carved the inscription, and placed it in the Grenadier cemetery on the battlefield. In 1945 the graves were moved to the military cemetery at Sfax, but the cross was left standing alone in the desert. In 1957, the French G O C in Tunisia noticed that the cross had been damaged by local Arabs and removed it to his garden for safety. Later, the pieces were shipped home to the Guards Depot at Caterham for restoration, where the cross remained until 1960. When the Depot moved to Pirbright and it was placed in All Saints church. It was moved to its present site and dedicated on 21st May 1995.
This cross, fashioned by their own comrades, enshrines the memory of the Grenadiers who fell at Mareth and stands also in honour of the 6th Battalion Grenadier Guards whose discipline and valour in battle won the admiration of friend and foe alike and whose sacrifice earned the honour which is emblazoned on the Colours of the Regiment."
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Mareth Cross - a memorial dedicated to the memory of all Ranks of the 6th Bn Grenadier Guards killed in the fateful attack on the Mareth Line in Tunisia on the night 16/17 March 1943. This account is not the story of that battle, which is well documented in “The Grenadier Guards in the war of 1939 - 1945” and in various other publications. It is purely an account of how this symbol came into being and its movements culminating in its being installed in its final resting place.
By the end of March 1943 the much depleted Battalion had moved on, playing its part in keeping up pressure on the retreating Afrika Korps. On 29 March, a party led by, the then, Drill Sgt George Hackett, and comprised mainly of members of the Pioneer Platoon, returned to the battle area with the task of burying the dead, including the disinterment and reburial of some who had been buried hastily by the Medical Officer, Captain A. Winder RAMC, and his small staff. Before the bodies could be recovered, it was necessary for a great many landmines, both Teller and ‘S’ type, to be lifted. A party of REs with mine detectors cleared at least 720 of these devices.
A neat and orderly cemetery was created beside the road leading to the hills of the “Horseshoe” area and the Cross was built from local stone obtained from a builder’s yard in Sfax. In this, the guardsmen were assisted by a stonemason from the yard. The Cross was then placed in the cemetery and the party rejoined the Battalion. During the 1950s the graves were moved by the War Graves Commission to the big Military Cemetery at Sfax but the Cross was left, standing alone in the desert.
In 1957 the French G.O.C. in Tunisia noticed the Cross which had been damaged by local people, who, it was said, had even used it to tether their donkeys. He had it removed to his garden for safety and notified RHQ Grenadier Guards of his action. Arrangements were then made for the pieces to be shipped home to the Guards Depot at Caterham for restoration. The Cross remained there until 1960 when the Depot moved to Pirbright and it was placed in the Garrison Church.
In the early 1990s many Service changes were taking place and it became known that Pirbright would no longer be the Guards Depot exclusively but was to become a training ground for the Army at large. This meant that the Mareth Cross would lose much of its Regimental significance and Norman Mitchell formerly a Sergeant in the 6th Battalion suggested that the Cross should be moved from Pirbright to the Guards Chapel.
There then followed a campaign led by Major The Lord Forbes KBE, formerly Adjutant of the 6th Battalion, for the move of the Cross to the Guards Chapel. The campaign was supported by many survivors of the 6th Battalion. Approval for the move of the Cross to the forecourt of the Guards Chapel was eventually obtained from the several authorities concerned. Thereafter discussion took place regarding the setting up of the Cross. For this Bruce George, architect of the rebuilt Guards Chapel, after its destruction by enemy action in 1944, produced plans and advice, leading to the Cross being installed in the Guards Chapel forecourt during the second half of 1994.
On Regimental Remembrance Day on 21 May 1995 a Service of Dedication of the Cross took place in the Chapel forecourt in the presence of the Colonel of the Regiment, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Since the Dedication of the Cross, a short Service of Remembrance has been held at the Cross each year on Regimental Remembrance Sunday. This continued until 2008 when it was decided that in future years, beginning in 2009 on Regimental Remembrance Day, during the Service in the Guards Chapel, the Regimental Adjutant will lay a wreath of Remembrance at the Cross. The title of the Mareth Cross and its location are recorded on the database of War Memorials in the UK, held in the Imperial War Museum.
The Cross now stands in its fine setting, flanked by two bronze tablets giving brief details of the Battle and the Casualties, which totalled 279, including 14 Officers and 63 Other Ranks killed.
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