The Livesey Hall War Memorial, in
Lewisham
Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...
, Greater London, commemorates the fallen of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
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 sculptor
Sydney March
Sydney March (1876–1968) was an English sculptor. His primary focus was portrait busts and other sculptures of British royalty and contemporary figures, as well as war memorials. The second-born of eight artists in his family, he and his sibl ...
, of the March family of artists.
Location
The Livesey Hall War Memorial is located in the
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...
area of
Lewisham
Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...
, Greater London, England. The locality is also referred to as
Catford
Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdiv ...
. It is positioned on Perry Hill, in the
Bell Green neighbourhood, in front of Livesey Memorial Hall.
Both structures take their name from the philanthropist Sir
George Livesey
Sir George Thomas Livesey (8 April 1834 – 4 October 1908) was a British engineer, industrialist and philanthropist. He was the chairman of the South Metropolitan Gas Company, inheriting the business from his father Thomas. '' Gas Engineering ...
(1834–1908), former chairman of the South Metropolitan Gas Company, as did the
Livesey Museum for Children
The Livesey Museum for Children was in the Old Kent Road, within the London Borough of Southwark, London, England.
The Livesey Museum was one of very few children's museums in the United Kingdom, which used to show a completely new hands-on ex ...
.
Design
The monument includes a bronze winged female figure with outstretched arms held aloft and wings spread horizontally. The triumphant
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 ...
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.
[ 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.][ The inscriptions on the right hand panel on the front listed the names of the fallen. The panel also included a quote from English poet ]Rupert Brooke
Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...
: "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."[ The bronze plaque on the back of the monument lists the partners and employees of the company who served during World War I.][
]
Dedication
The Livesey Hall War Memorial, sometimes referred to as the Sydenham or Livesey War Memorial, was unveiled by Lord Robert Cecil
Edgar Algernon Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, (14 September 1864 – 24 November 1958), known as Lord Robert Cecil from 1868 to 1923,As the younger son of a Marquess, Cecil held the courtesy title of "Lord". However, he ...
(1864–1958) on 4 June 1920.[ The British statesman helped draft the ]League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
Covenant in 1919 and won the Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
in 1937.
National Heritage List for England
The monument is a listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. It was added as a Grade II structure on the National Heritage List for England on 25 April 1995. Its listing was amended on 30 August 1996.[ George Livesey's statue by ]F. W. Pomeroy
Frederick William Pomeroy (9 October 1856 – 26 May 1924) was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He became a leading sculptor in the New Sculpture movement, a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards Natu ...
is also on the National Heritage List for England as is Livesey Memorial Hall itself.
Sculptor
The Livesey Hall War Memorial was designed and sculpted by the British artist Sydney March.[ The son of George and Elizabeth March, he was born in 1876 in ]Stoneferry
Stoneferry (''archaic'' Stone-Ferry, or Stone ferry) is a suburb of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was formerly a small hamlet on the east bank of the River Hull, the site of a ferry, and, after 1905, a bridge. The are ...
, a suburb of Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
, 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. Later, he attended the Royal Academy Schools
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
, where he won first prize in 1900. March exhibited thirteen times at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts between 1906 and 1932. His family established studios at their home of Goddendene in Farnborough Farnborough may refer to:
Australia
* Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone
United Kingdom
* Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England
** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...
, Kent after 1901. 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 the National War Memorial of Canada after the 1930 death of their brother, sculptor Vernon March. Other monuments for which he is renowned include the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...
South African War Memorial in Northern Ireland, the United Empire Loyalist
United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...
Monument in Canada, and the Lancaster Monument in England. Smaller-scale pieces include the portrait busts of King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
and Cecil John Rhodes, both in the National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
*National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
*National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...
in London. Sydney March died in 1968 at the age of 92. His ashes were interred in the family plot at St Giles the Abbot Churchyard in Farnborough. In 1922, Sydney had sculpted the bronze angel monument that marks the March plot.[
]
Theft of plaques
In October 2011, the three bronze plaques from the front of the monument were stolen. Police in the Greater London area reported in late 2011 that incidents 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.[
]
See also
* Sydney March
Sydney March (1876–1968) was an English sculptor. His primary focus was portrait busts and other sculptures of British royalty and contemporary figures, as well as war memorials. The second-born of eight artists in his family, he and his sibl ...
* Elsie March
* Vernon March
References
External links
Map of Livesey War Memorial
{{Portal bar, London, Visual arts, World War I, World War II
Victory monuments
Military memorials in London
Grade II listed monuments and memorials
World War I memorials in England
World War II memorials in England
Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Lewisham