The Guards Crimean War Memorial is a Grade II listed

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

in St James's, London, that commemorates the Allied victory in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

of 1853–56. It is located on Waterloo Place, at the junction of

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...

and Pall Mall, approximately one-quarter of the way from the Duke of York Column to Piccadilly Circus.

Description and history

It was unveiled in 1861 and consisted of the statues of three Guardsmen, with a female allegorical figure referred to as Honour. It was cast in bronze, with components cast from cannons melted down that had been captured at the siege of Sevastopol. The sculptor was John Bell. On the front, by the statues of the Guardsmen, are two plaques. The older one states:

''The foundation stone of the Guards' Memorial was laid in the year of our lord 1861 by Margaret Johanna Bell.''

The other plaque reads:

''The Guards' Memorial was pulled down in the year of our lord 1914 and was re-erected 30 feet north in order to permit the erection of the Florence Nightingale and Sidney Herbert statues.''

On the back facade of the monuments, facing the road up to Piccadilly is another plaque, a shield surrounded by foliage and mounted on guns. This reads:

''To the memory of 2152 Officers, Non-Com. Officers and Privates of the BRIGADE OF GUARDS who fell during the war with Russia in 1854–56. Erected by their Comrades.''

In 1914, the monument was moved northwards to make room for new statues of

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...

and Sidney Herbert who was Secretary at War during the Crimean War. It is only then that the allegorical figure was referred to as

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

. The sculpture of Nightingale was by

Arthur George Walker Arthur George Walker (20 October 1861 – 13 September 1939) was an English sculptor and painter. Among his best-known works are several war memorials and the statue of Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 Aug ...

, and the sculpture of Herbert was by

John Henry Foley John Henry Foley (24 May 1818 – 27 August 1874), often referred to as J. H. Foley, was an Irish sculptor, working in London. he is best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell in Dublin, and of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial in Londo ...

References

External links

* 1861 establishments in England 1861 sculptures 1915 sculptures Crimean War Guards Division (United Kingdom) Military memorials in London {{London-struct-stub