Swansea War Memorial, also known as Swansea Cenotaph, is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

on the promenade beside Mumbles Road, the

A4067 List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European isla ...

, near

Brynmill Brynmill is a suburb of the City and County of Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom, UK. It lies about two miles (3 km) to the west of Swansea city centre. It is a residential area forming the southern part of the Uplands (electoral ward), Uplands ...

to the southwest of

Swansea city centre Swansea city centre in Swansea, Wales, contains the main shopping, leisure and nightlife district in Swansea. The city centre covers much of the Castle ward including the area around Oxford Street, Castle Square, and the Quadrant Shopping Centr ...

, overlooking

Swansea Beach Swansea Beach stretches for five miles along Swansea Bay between the Maritime Quarter and the "Knab Rock" near Mumbles in Wales. It is backed by a promenade/cycle track (part of National Cycle Route 4) and a coastal road. The southern section o ...

and

Swansea Bay Swansea Bay ( cy, Bae Abertawe) is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal ...

. It was designed by the borough architect,

Ernest Morgan Ernest Morgan (1881 – 10 August 1954) was a Welsh architect and painter. As the borough architect of Swansea, buildings he designed include: *Mayhill School *Swansea Technical College extension, c.1910 (the Technical College became the Mount P ...

, and closely resembles

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memori ...

Cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

in London. The memorial cost £3,000, raised by public subscription: over £9,000 was donated, and £3,000 of the excess was directed to assist the children of the fallen. A

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid by Field Marshal

Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 unti ...

on 1 July 1922. The competed memorial was unveiled by Admiral of the Fleet Sir

Doveton Sturdee Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet (9 June 18597 May 1925) was a Royal Navy officer. After training as a torpedo officer, he commanded two different cruisers and then three d ...

a year later, on 21 July 1923, with a dedication by the vicar of Swansea, Prebendary Cecil Wilson. The memorial comprises a tall rectangular

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

pylon, about in section and high, standing on three steps, topped by a stone chest (the symbolically empty tomb or "cenotaph"). The sides of the pylon bear bronze

low relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impres ...

s: on both short sides are bronze wreaths and the dates "1914-1918" and "1939-1945"; the long side facing the sea bears a bronze anchor within a wreath; and the long side facing the land bears the coat of arms of the

City of Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

and the Latin inscription "Pro Deo Rege et Patria" ("For God, King and Country"). The foundation stone bears an inscription which records it was laid by Earl Haig in 1922 over a

King's shilling The King's shilling, sometimes called the Queen's shilling when the Sovereign is female, is a historical slang term referring to the earnest payment of one shilling given to recruits to the Armed forces of the United Kingdom in the 18th, 19th and ...

placed by Mrs Fewings, representing war widows. A separate inscription records the unveiling in 1923. The pylon is surrounded by an octagonal paved precinct with four entrances, once gated. Stone benches are built into the inside faces of precinct walls. The walls also carry bronze memorial plaques listing the names of over 2,200 of Swansea's war dead from the First World War, 400 from the Second World War, and several from later conflicts. The corners of the plaques are decorated with

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

s as symbols of good luck. The memorial suffered shrapnel damage in the Second World War, and the damaged gates to the precinct were removed. It became a Grade II

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 ...

in 1994. A short distance along the promenade to the east is the memorial to

Swansea Jack Swansea Jack (1930 – October 1937) was a famous Welsh dog who rescued 27 people from the docks and riverbanks of Swansea, Wales. Life Swansea Jack was a black retriever with a longish coat. He was similar in appearance to a modern Fl ...

, and a memorial to the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

erected in 1904 opposite St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground. A separate memorial to the Merchant Navy was erected at

SA1 Swansea Waterfront SA1 Swansea Waterfront (''colloquially'': SA1) is the marketing name given to the brownfield development area located in northern part of Swansea Docks. The area is located directly to the southeast of Swansea city centre. It is bordered by ...

in 2005. File:Swansea War Memorial 20190924 124449 (48787085858).jpg , The memorial in 2019 File:Swansea War Memorial 20190924 124147 (48787450386).jpg , The memorial in 2019 File:Swansea War Memorial 20190924 124251 (48787448911).jpg , Inscription recording the laying of a foundation stone in 1922 File:Swansea War Memorial 20190924 124214 (48787449801).jpg , Inscription recording the unveiling in 1923 File:Swansea War Memorial 20190924 124339 (48787448111).jpg , Some of the bronze plaques listing the war dead File:Swansea Jack memorial.jpg ,

memorial File:South African War Memorial in Swansea - geograph.org.uk - 3688991.jpg , Swansea's South African War Memorial File:Merchant Navy Memorial, Swansea.JPG , Swansea's Merchant Navy Memorial

References

{{coord, 51.6107, -3.9691
Swansea Cenotaph
Coflein, National Monuments Record of Wales

roll-of-honour.com
Cenotaph including surrounding walls
britishlistedbuildings.co.uk
Swansea War Memorial
War Memorials Register, Imperial War Museums
Swansea Cenotaph
warmemorialsonline.org.uk
This is why there are swastikas on Swansea's cenotaph war memorial
WalesOnline, 5 September 2018
Swansea Boer War Memorial
War Memorials Register, Imperial War Museums
Swansea Merchant Navy Memorial
War Memorials Register, Imperial War Museums Cenotaphs in the United Kingdom Grade II listed buildings in Swansea Grade II listed monuments and memorials in Wales Monuments and memorials in Swansea World War I memorials in Wales World War II memorials in Wales