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 Interactive map of Livesey Hall War Memorial | |
| Location | Lewisham, Greater London, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°25′53″N0°2′14″W / 51.43139°N 0.03722°W /51.43139; -0.03722 |
| Designer | Sydney March |
| Type | Military |
| Material | Bronze andLimestone |
| Completion date | 1920 |
| Opening date | 4 June 1920 |
| Dedicated to | Employees of South Suburban Gas Company who served in World War I and World War II |
| National Historic List for England Grade II | |
TheLivesey Hall War Memorial, inLewisham, Greater London, commemorates the fallen ofWorld War I andWorld War II who had been employed by the South Suburban Gas Company of London. It is also a tribute to those employees who served in the wars. The monument was designed and executed by the British sculptorSydney March, of the March family of artists.
The Livesey Hall War Memorial is located in theSydenham area ofLewisham, Greater London, England. The locality is also referred to asCatford. It is positioned on Perry Hill, in theBell Green neighbourhood, in front of Livesey Memorial Hall.[1][2][3] Both structures take their name from the philanthropist SirGeorge Livesey (1834–1908), former chairman of the South Metropolitan Gas Company, as did theLivesey Museum for Children.[4][5][6]
The monument includes a bronze winged female figure with outstretched arms held aloft and wings spread horizontally. The triumphantVictory statue stands on a bronze globe encircled with serpents and set on a bronze wreathed base. This is all set on a semi-circular stone base to which a small bronze plaque was attached.[1] Three steps lead to a backdrop of vertical limestone slabs on which three bronze plaques were affixed, two on the front and one on the back. The inscriptions on the left hand panel on the front and the smaller panel in the centre dedicated the memorial to the partners and employees of the South Suburban Gas Company who died in the two world wars.[2] The inscriptions on the right hand panel on the front listed the names of the fallen. The panel also included a quote from English poetRupert Brooke: "If I should die, think only this of me: that there's some corner of a foreign field that is forever England. There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust concealed."[2] The bronze plaque on the back of the monument lists the partners and employees of the company who served during World War I.[2]
The Livesey Hall War Memorial, sometimes referred to as the Sydenham or Livesey War Memorial, was unveiled byLord Robert Cecil (1864–1958) on 4 June 1920.[1][2] The British statesman helped draft theLeague of Nations Covenant in 1919 and won theNobel Peace Prize in 1937.[7]
The monument is alisted building. It was added as a Grade II structure on theNational Heritage List for England on 25 April 1995. Its listing was amended on 30 August 1996.[1] George Livesey's statue byF. W. Pomeroy is also on the National Heritage List for England[8] as is Livesey Memorial Hall itself.[9]
The Livesey Hall War Memorial was designed and sculpted by the British artist Sydney March.[1][2] The son of George and Elizabeth March, he was born in 1876 inStoneferry, a suburb ofHull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. He was the second of nine children, eight of whom became artists. As a child, Sydney March worked as a monumental sculptor's apprentice.[10] Later, he attended theRoyal Academy Schools, where he won first prize in 1900. March exhibited thirteen times atThe Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts between 1906 and 1932.[11] His family established studios at their home of Goddendene inFarnborough, Kent after 1901.[12] Sydney March was a prolific artist whose primary focus was war memorials, as well as sculptures of British royalty and other contemporary figures.
He and his siblings completed theNational War Memorial of Canada after the 1930 death of their brother, sculptorVernon March.[13] Other monuments for which he is renowned include theRoyal Inniskilling Fusiliers South African War Memorial in Northern Ireland,[14] theUnited Empire Loyalist Monument in Canada,[15] and the Lancaster Monument in England.[16] Smaller-scale pieces include the portrait busts ofKing Edward VII[17] andCecil John Rhodes,[18] both in theNational Portrait Gallery in London. Sydney March died in 1968 at the age of 92.[19] His ashes were interred in the family plot at St Giles the Abbot Churchyard in Farnborough.[20] In 1922, Sydney had sculpted the bronze angel monument that marks the March plot.[11]
In October 2011, the three bronze plaques from the front of the monument were stolen.[2][21] Police in the Greater London area reported in late 2011 thatincidents of metal theft began about 2006, and had increased since then. Thieves were not only stealing memorial plaques from monuments and cemeteries, but also other sources of metal such as roofs, manhole covers, and railway cable.[21]
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