Object Details

War Memorial

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Location
Makers
General Information
Classification
Object Parts
Object Condition
History
References
Photographs


Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright for Photograph:

Creative Commons

Location

Street:Bethune Way / Lower Park Road
Town:Hastings
Parish:Hastings
Council:Hastings Borough Council
County:East Sussex
Postcode:TN34
Location on Google Map
Object setting:Public Park
Access is:Public
Location note:In Alexandra Park
In the AZ book:East Sussex
Page:127
Grid reference:M5
The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks.
OS Reference:TQ817210

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Makers

Name : Margaret Winser
     Role:Sculptor

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General Information

Installation date:1922
Unveiling date:26/03/1922
Work is:Extant
Owner custodian:Hastings Borough Council
Object listing:Grade II: of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them
Listing date:10/02/2002
Description:Comprises a triangular chamfered limestone column (now painted) decorated with swags and shields of Hastings Borough, surmounted by a winged figure with spear and wreath, symbolising Victory. Three bronze reliefs are set into the base of the column depicting all three armed services; the Army by foot soldiers with rifles; the Navy by ratings in a warship moving a buoy and the RAF by an aviator in an aeroplane. Three steps are inscribed with the names of battles and theatres of war. A large polygonal plinth is inscribed with the names of the Fallen and originally contained flowerbeds but these have been cemented over. (33rd Ammendment of the 3rd List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Borough of Hastings (East Sussex). 10 January 2002.)
Signatures:South facing relief ('In The Air'), bottom right:
MARGARET WINSER
DSGNR & Sc.
Inscription:Front three aspects of the 15 sided base, carved into the stone, facing NE:

IN
MEMORIAM
TO THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR WORLD WAR WORLD WAR
1899 - 1902 1914 - 1918 1939 - 1945

THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE

NE face, underneath the bronze relief and carved into the stepped base of the obelisk
with letters painted black:

ON LAND
BURMA NORTH AFRICA
GALLIPOLI
FRANCE PALESTINE

NW face, underneath the bronze relief and carved into the stepped base of the obelisk
with letters painted black:

AT SEA
FAR EAST KOREA
SALONIKA
WEST AFRICA ITALY

South face, underneath the bronze relief and carved into the stepped base of the obelisk
with letters painted black:

IN THE AIR
FALKLANDS
MESOPOTAMIA
EAST AFRICA BELGIUM

South face, underneath the top of the obelisk below a garland:

COURAGE

NW face, underneath the top of the obelisk below a garland:

VIGILANCE

NE face, underneath the top of the obelisk below a garland:

FORTITUDE

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Classification

Categories:Sculptural, Military, Commemorative
Object type1:Statue
Object type2:War memorial
     Object subtype1:WWI and WWII
Object type3:Shaft
     Object subtype1:Column
Object type4:Sculpture
Subject type1:Figurative
     Subject subtype1:Full-length

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Object Parts

Part 1:Triangular column
     Material:Portland Stone
Part 2:Winged figure
     Material:Bronze
Part 3:Three reliefs
     Material:Bronze
Part 4:Base (15 sides)
     Material:Stone
     Height (cm):75
     Width (cm):500
     Depth (cm):500

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Object Condition

Overall condition:Good
Risk assessment:No known risk
Condition 1 of type:Vandalism
     Condition 1: Structural damage
     More details:In October 1990 the bronze plaques listing war dead were stolen. In 1991 the plaques were replaced, post WW2 names added and the memorial was completely renovated.
Date of on-site inspection:30/07/2007

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History

History:Margaret Winser was a pupil of Rodin. The monument was unveiled by General the Earl of Cavan and dedicated by the Lord Bishop of Chichester, the Right Reverend Winfrid Oldfield Burrows.

The memorial was built to commemorate some 1250 men from the Borough of Hastings who died in WWI. On the day of the inauguration, 'A vast crowd of people assembled… The weather, which had been bright during the morning, became threatening towards the appointed hour, but fortunately practically no rain fell during the service. Several hundreds of people were unable to obtain admission to the Park, whilst the railway embankment and bridge were used as a point of vantage by a large number of people. It was estimated that there were quite 10,000 present. Some eight hundred relatives were accommodated in the relatives' enclosure near the monument, whilst hundreds of ex-service men led by Colonel F.G. Langham, C.M.G. were also present.'. An unveiling enclosure was formed by troops and officers from the Royal Sussex Regiment amongst others. 'The Mayor and Corporation walked in civic state from the Town Hall, conducted by a detachment of Police and the Chief Constable… Several members of the War memorial Executive Committee were present inside the military square.' The group met the Earl of Cavan at the Braybrooke Road entrance to the Park. Alfred Dyer, the Honorary Secretary of the War Memorial Fund, a key figure in the development of the memorial and organisor of the ceremony was also in the group from the Town Hall. After prayers, hymns and an address by the Bishop of Chichester, the Mayor asked the Earl of Cavan to unveil the monument. He then addressed the crowd. A wreath laying was initiated by the Mayoress followed by many relatives and representatives of military and other organisations. 'They came, aged and young, mothers and sisters, fathers and brothers, rich and poor, strong and weak, some blinded with tears, others with set expressions, to pay their tribute to the memory of the men who had gone from them at the call of their country. A sargeant and corporal of artillery placed a large wreath at the base and saluted smartly, whilst next to them a poor old woman placed her bunch of daffodils, such a poor little bunch, but a tribute as high as the finest floral wreaths of the hundreds which were offered.'. There was some confusion towards the end of the wreath laying during which the Reveille was sounded, stopping the wreath laying before all relatives had approached the monument, curtailing their tributes until later on. Several people also fainted during the ceremony including a young soldier who was taken to hospital.
(Hastings and St. Leonards Observer. 1 April 1922)
Hard archive file:Yes

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References

Source 1 :
     Title:33rd. Ammendment of the 3rd. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest
     Type:Archive
     Location:Hastings Borough Council
     Date:07/02/2002


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Photographs





Date: 30/07/2007
Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Date: 30/07/2007
Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Date: 30/07/2007
Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Date: 30/07/2007
Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons

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