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Kingston upon Thames War Memorial: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 51°24′37″N 0°18′18″W / 51.4104°N 0.305°W / 51.4104; -0.305
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==History==
==History==
The town of Kingston upon Thames received its first [[charter]] in 1200. It retains close links to its historic county, [[Surrey]], although it is now the administrative centre for the [[Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames]], a borough of [[Greater London]].{{sfn|Cherry|Pevsner|2002|pp=307-8}} During [[World War I]], the borough librarian began to maintain a record of the men from the town killed in the conflict and, at the war's end in 1919, the council determined to commemorate the dead by commissioning a memorial.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Kingston upon Thames War Memorial|num=1080054|grade=II*|accessdate=12 January 2020}}</ref> The commission was awarded to [[Richard Reginald Goulden]].<ref>https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/12100</ref> Goulden himself fought in the war, as a captain in the [[Royal Engineers]] until he was invalided out in 1916. He had trained as a sculptor at the Dover School of Art and at the [[Royal College of Art|National Art Training School]], followed by a pre-war career as a teacher and artist.<ref>https://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib2_1207251763</ref> The ceremony of dedication was held in 1923 and was led by [[George Penny, 1st Viscount Marchwood|Frederick George Penny]], the town's [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|member of parliament]].<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Kingston upon Thames War Memorial|num=1080054|grade=II*|accessdate=12 January 2020}}</ref>
The town of Kingston upon Thames received its first [[charter]] in 1200. It retains close links to its historic county, [[Surrey]], although it is now the administrative centre for the [[Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames]], a borough of [[Greater London]].{{sfn|Cherry|Pevsner|2002|pp=307-8}} During [[World War I]], the borough librarian began to maintain a record of the men from the town killed in the conflict and, at the war's end in 1919, the council determined to commemorate the dead by commissioning a memorial.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Kingston upon Thames War Memorial|num=1080054|grade=II*|accessdate=12 January 2020}}</ref> The commission was awarded to [[Richard Reginald Goulden]]<ref>https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/12100</ref> in 1920.<ref>http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=598</ref> Goulden himself fought in the war, as a captain in the [[Royal Engineers]] until he was invalided out in 1916. He had trained as a sculptor at the Dover School of Art and at the [[Royal College of Art|National Art Training School]], followed by a pre-war career as a teacher and artist.<ref>https://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib2_1207251763</ref> The ceremony of dedication was held in 1923 and was led by [[George Penny, 1st Viscount Marchwood|Frederick George Penny]], the town's [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|member of parliament]].<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Kingston upon Thames War Memorial|num=1080054|grade=II*|accessdate=12 January 2020}}</ref>


==Description==
==Description==
The base of the memorial is carved granite and the sculpture is of bronze.<ref>https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/111554</ref> The stepped base of the plinth records the names of the 624 men of the town killed in the First World War. The column inscription was revised after the Second World War to include mention of the town's dead from that conflict, but the names of individuals were not inscribed on the memorial.<ref>https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/12100</ref>
The stepped base of the memorial is carved granite<ref>https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/111554</ref> and records the names of the 624 men of the town killed in the First World War. The column inscription was revised after the Second World War to include mention of the town's dead from that conflict, but the names of individuals were not inscribed on the memorial.<ref>https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/12100</ref> The base also bears lines from the second stanza of [[Laurence Binyon|Laurence Binyon's]] poem ''[[For the Fallen]]''; "AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE / SUN AND IN THE MORNING / WE WILL REMEMBER THEM".<ref>http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=598</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 13:47, 12 January 2020

Kingston upon Thames War Memorial
United Kingdom
For men from the town of Kingston upon Thames who died in the First and Second World Wars
Unveiled1923
Location51°24′37″N 0°18′18″W / 51.4104°N 0.305°W / 51.4104; -0.305
Designed byRichard Reginald Goulden
IN HONOUR OF THE MEN OF THIS TOWN WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WARS 1914 – 1919, 1939 – 1945.
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameKingston upon Thames War Memorial
Designated6 October 1983
Reference no.1080054

Kingston upon Thames War Memorial, in the Memorial Garden on Union Street, Kingston upon Thames, London, commemorates the men of the town who died in the First World War. After 1945, the memorial was updated to recognise casualties from the Second World War. The memorial was commissioned by the town council and was designed by the sculptor Richard Reginald Goulden. It depicts a naked warrior carrying a flaming cross and wielding a sword, with which he defends two children from a serpent. Goulden designed a number of such allegorical memorials, including others at Crompton, in Greater Manchester, and at Redhill, Surrey. The Kingston memorial was designated a Grade II listed structure in 1983. This was revised upwards to Grade II*, denoting a building or structure of particular importance, in 2016.

History

The town of Kingston upon Thames received its first charter in 1200. It retains close links to its historic county, Surrey, although it is now the administrative centre for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, a borough of Greater London.[1] During World War I, the borough librarian began to maintain a record of the men from the town killed in the conflict and, at the war's end in 1919, the council determined to commemorate the dead by commissioning a memorial.[2] The commission was awarded to Richard Reginald Goulden[3] in 1920.[4] Goulden himself fought in the war, as a captain in the Royal Engineers until he was invalided out in 1916. He had trained as a sculptor at the Dover School of Art and at the National Art Training School, followed by a pre-war career as a teacher and artist.[5] The ceremony of dedication was held in 1923 and was led by Frederick George Penny, the town's member of parliament.[6]

Description

The stepped base of the memorial is carved granite[7] and records the names of the 624 men of the town killed in the First World War. The column inscription was revised after the Second World War to include mention of the town's dead from that conflict, but the names of individuals were not inscribed on the memorial.[8] The base also bears lines from the second stanza of Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen; "AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE / SUN AND IN THE MORNING / WE WILL REMEMBER THEM".[9]

See also

References and sources

References

  1. ^ Cherry & Pevsner 2002, pp. 307–8.
  2. ^ Historic England. "Kingston upon Thames War Memorial (Grade II*) (1080054)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  3. ^ https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/12100
  4. ^ http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=598
  5. ^ https://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib2_1207251763
  6. ^ Historic England. "Kingston upon Thames War Memorial (Grade II*) (1080054)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  7. ^ https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/111554
  8. ^ https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/12100
  9. ^ http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=598

Sources