An unresolved question has been bouncing around at the back of my mind for a while. I came close to answering it when I was in St Paul’s earlier this month.
There were memorials to men who perished in the Crimean War and the South African War. The former memorial lists the officers’ names and records only the numbers of NCOs and Other Ranks that died. The latter lists the name and rank of every soldier. My question; what was the first memorial to list the names of ORs? A qualified guide tells me that the Royal Fusiliers Boer War memorial in the Guildhall, installed in 1907, was the first.
In fact I suspect the memorial in St Paul’s is earlier but the Guildhall bronze is the first to depict a private soldier, seen standing on the right. Maybe somewhere there is a memorial to soldiers killed in the 19th century Afghan wars? Not this one.
How about the Maiwand Lion in Reading commemorating the Battle of Maiwand in 1880? Here is the inscription:
“This monument commemorates the names and records the valour and devotion of XI (11) officers and CCCXVIII (318) non-commissioned officers and men of the LXVI (66th) Berkshire Regiment who gave their lives for their country at Girishk Maiwand and Kandahar during the Afghan Campaign MDCCCLXXIX (1879) – MDCCCLXXX (1880).
History does not afford any grander or finer instance of gallantry and devotion to Queen and country than that displayed by the LXVI Regiment at the Battle of Maiwand on the XXVII (27th) July MDCCCLXXX (1880) Despatch of General Primrose.”
The monument was unveiled in 1884. The sculpture of the lion is by George Blackall Simonds and is one of the largest cast-iron sculptures in the world. Worth a look if you visit Reading.
