| 24th Division War Memorial | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
 | |
 | |
| For the men of the24th Division who were killed or who went missing in theFirst World War | |
| Unveiled | 4 October 1924; 101 years ago (1924-10-04) |
| Location | 51°28′49.91″N0°9′13.44″W / 51.4805306°N 0.1537333°W /51.4805306; -0.1537333 Battersea Park, London |
| Designed by | Eric Kennington |
XXIV DIVISION FRANCE 1914–1918 | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | War memorial of the 24th Division, Battersea Park |
| Designated | 24 August 2005 |
| Reference no. | 1391503 |
The24th Division War Memorial is aFirst World War memorial inBattersea Park, London. The unusual avant-garde design byEric Kennington, his first public commission, was unveiled in 1924. It became a Grade II*listed building in 2005.[1]
The memorial commemorates the service of the24th Division, a British infantry division which served on theWestern Front in the First World War. The Division was raised in September 1914 as part ofLord Kitchener'sNew Army, and served on the Western Front, in theBattle of Loos in 1915, through theBattle of Delville Wood and theBattle of Guillemont in 1916, theBattle of Vimy Ridge and theBattle of Messines in 1917, to theBattle of the Sambre in 1918. It was disbanded in 1919, having suffered the loss of over 35,000 men killed, wounded and missing.
Kennington had served in two battalions of theLondon Regiment, the 1/22nd (County of London) Battalion (theArtists Rifles) and then the 13th (County of London) Battalion (theKensingtons), later becoming awar artist. He undertook the commission for free, buying the £300 stone himself. Pictures of a 13.5 inches (340 mm) bronze maquette were published in theIllustrated London News in November 1922.
The finalPortland stone memorial stands 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) high. It comprises a group of three infantry soldiers, in full kit with helmets and rifles; a serpent encircles their feet. The three figures are based on: Trooper Morris Clifford Thomas, of theMachine Gun Corps (right); Sergeant J. Woods, of the 9th Battalion,Royal Sussex (centre) andRobert Graves, of the 3rd Battalion,Royal Welch Fusiliers (left). The three soldiers are mounted on a columnar base of three parts, which bears the inscription "XXIV DIVISION FRANCE 1914–1918"; the base is also encircled by inscriptions showing the twenty badges of the Division's constituent units. These inscriptions were carved byLucy Sampson. The base stands on two circular steps, and the whole is surrounded by a circular hedge.
The completed memorial was unveiled on 4 October 1924 by Field MarshalLord Plumer and theBishop of Southwark,Cyril Garbett. The ceremony was attended by a guard of honour, and an address was delivered by the Division's commander from October 1915 to May 1917, SirJohn Capper, who mentioned that the unit lost 4,865 men from all ranks killed, 24,000 wounded and 6,000 missing.
