With its military badges and depiction of a soldier, this window remembers those who died serving in the Eighth Army – a British field army which fought in the North African and Italian campaigns of the Second World War. This scene depicts a soldier in desert uniform beside a tank. The tank’s occupant wears the cap badge of General Sir Bernard Montgomery, Commander of the Eighth Army from August 1942 to December 1943.

Designed by Harold Thomspon and unveiled in 1984, the window was commissioned by the Portsmouth District Eighth Army Old Comrades Association. 

Depicted below the desert scene in the Eighth Army Window are the badges of the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, the Army and the Merchant Navy, all of which formed part of the Eighth Army. Below is a jerboa or ‘desert rat’ (from which the Eighth Army took its nickname), and beside it are the years (1941–5) during which the Eighth Army saw action. 

This window commemorates the Royal Regiment of Artillery, known as The Gunners. The top two lights shown here depict a gun crew loading and firing a cannon in 1716, the year the regiment was formed. Below is a horse-drawn Royal Field Artillery gun from the First World War.

The Gunners’ Window, which forms a pair with the Eighth Army Window on the north wall, was designed by Harold Thompson and unveiled in June 1987.

These lights in the Gunners’ Window depict (top) a Second World War ‘ack-ack’ gun and a 25 field gun. Below are soldiers and a field gun of 29 Commando Regiment under camouflage in the Falklands War, fought between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982.

Celebrating the Garrison Church’s royal connections, this window depicts three kings and queens, with their coats of arms. At the bottom of the window are scenes showing their associations with the building.

Here, the future James II of England (reigned 1685–8), then Duke of York, is seen on the occasion in 1672 when he rode through Portsmouth along streets lined with thousands of troops.

Unveiled in 1970, this is one of three windows on the south side of the church. All of them were designed by Michael Farrar-Bell, one-time president of the British Society of Master Glass Painters.

Queen Anne (reigned 1702–14) is shown here presenting a silver communion plate to the Royal Garrison Church in 1709. The plate is now kept at the Royal Army Chaplains’ Museum in Oxfordshire.

Here, George III (reigned 1760–1820) attends a service at the Royal Garrison Church in 1778. During the service he presented the church with a prayer book, which is now stored at the Portsmouth Archive.

The Church Window tells the story of the Garrison Church through stained glass, from its medieval origins to its destruction during the Second World War.

The left-hand window shows the figure of Peter des Roches (Peter of the Rocks, or ‘de Rupibus’ in Latin), Bishop of Winchester 1205–38. He is seen holding the building of the Domus Dei, of which he was a co-founder.

The Church Window was designed by Michael Farrar-Bell and unveiled in 1967.

The central scene in the Church Window depicts the bombing of the church in January 1941 which destroyed the nave. Flames rise from the church and searchlights light up the sky.

St Nicholas is the patron saint of the Royal Garrison Church. His other patronages included sailors, merchants and travellers, making him an appropriate patron for this location.

The scenes above and below St Nicholas in the right-hand light of the Church Window are the arms of Lord Nelson, victor of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 on his ship HMS Victory, which is depicted below St Nicholas. This window pane is a tribute to the assistance given by the Royal Navy to the Army.

Commemorating Portsmouth’s connection to the Army, this window shows three soldiers through history. This light shows ships anchored in the Solent before setting off for the campaign in France that culminated in victory at the Battle of Crécy (August 1346). Portsmouth was an embarkation point for many of Edward III’s troops crossing to France. An archer at the battle is depicted in the window above.

The Army Window was designed by Michael Farrar-Bell and unveiled in 1967.

The central light of the Army Window shows a soldier of the Second World War. Below him is this scene, depicting the invasion fleet gathering in the Solent before setting sail for France.

The right-hand light of the Army Window displays the figure of a Stuart soldier. During the English Civil War, Portsmouth was bombarded from Gosport by Oliver Cromwell’s gunners. The arms of Charles II are shown above the soldier, and the nearby harbour fortifications below.

Christians regard the east end of a church as the most holy and it is here that the windows of the Garrison Church are full of religious imagery. All nine panels – three in each light – relate to the concept of the Domus Dei (House of God). 

In this scene from the central panel, angels of the seven churches of the Book of Revelation support the badge of the Domus Dei.