| Memorial Gates | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
_18.jpg) | |
| For soldiers from the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean and Africa who fought for Britain in World War I and II | |
| Unveiled | 6 November 2002; 22 years ago (2002-11-06) |
| Location | 51°30′09″N0°08′57″W / 51.5025°N 0.1491°W /51.5025; -0.1491 |
| Designed by | Liam O'Connor |
TheMemorial Gates are awar memorial located at theHyde Park Corner end ofConstitution Hill in London. Also known as theCommonwealth Memorial Gates, they commemorate the soldiers of theBritish Empire from five countries of the Indian subcontinent (India,Pakistan,Bangladesh,Nepal andSri Lanka), as well as the countries ofAfrica and theCaribbean, who served for Britain in theFirst andSecond World Wars.
The memorial was inaugurated in 2002 byQueen Elizabeth II.
The main inscription reads:
In memory of the five million volunteers from the Indian sub-continent, Africa and the Caribbean who fought with Britain in the two World Wars.
A shorter inscription quotes the words of the Nigerian author and poetBen Okri:
Our Future is Greater Than Our Past.
On theGreen Park side of the Gates there are two stone slabs, either side of the pavilion, commemorating by name several of the campaigns in which forces from the British Empire fought.
The memorial pavilion, also on theGreen Park side ofConstitution Hill has a list of those from the named regions who were awarded theGeorge Cross (GC) orVictoria Cross (VC) in the two World Wars. The 74 names are listed on the ceiling of the small domed pavilion. There are 23 VC recipients from World War I listed, 12 GC recipients from World War II, and 39 VC recipients from World War II.
The plans for the memorial were made by the Memorial Gates Trust. As inscribed on the memorial, the inaugural patron of the Trust wasPrince Charles, and the inaugural trustees wereLord Inge,Lord Sandberg,Viscount Slim,Neil Thorne,Lord Weatherill,Baroness Flather, Khalid Aziz,Lakshmi Niwas Mittal,Harpinder Singh Narula (chair),Gulam Noon, andAnwar Pervez.
The architects were Liam O'Connor Architects and Planning Consultants. Funding came from theNational Lottery, provided by theMillennium Commission. Construction of the Memorial Gates began on 1 August 2001, with an inscription commemorating this event on the first stone to be laid; the inscription states that the stone was laid bythe Queen Mother. The company contracted to build the memorial was Geoffrey Osborne Ltd and the stonemasons were CWO Ltd.
The pillars are made from Portland Stone, they are topped by a bronze urn and gas flames, which are lit on special occasions such as Remembrance Sunday, Armistice Day and Commonwealth Day.
The Memorial Gates were inaugurated on 6 November 2002 byQueen Elizabeth II with an inscription stating that this took place in theGolden Jubilee year of her reign.
_16.jpg)
_7.jpg)
_8.jpg)
_1.jpg)
_10.jpg){kind=link}
_9.jpg){kind=link}