The University of Reading War Memorial is a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

, designed by Herbert Maryon and situated on the

London Road Campus London Road Campus of the University of Reading is the original campus of that university. It is on the London Road, immediately to the south of Reading town centre in the English county of Berkshire. The site for the campus was given to the u ...

of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

. Initially designed as a First World War memorial and dedicated in June 1924, it was later expanded in scope to also serve as a memorial of later wars.

History and design

Memorials to servicemen who died in the

First World War 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 ...

were erected soon after the end of the conflict. Plans to build a permanent memorial at the

unfolded in 1919, when

William Macbride Childs William Macbride Childs (1869–1939) was an English academic administrator and historian, who was involved in the foundation of the University of Reading and who served briefly as its first vice-chancellor. Biography Childs was born, on 3 Januar ...

, the principal of the college, printed a pamphlet suggesting several ideas. The final design was ultimately made by Herbert Maryon, a teacher of sculpture at the university; he would later gain broad recognition in a second career at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, where he conserved many of the finds from the

Sutton Hoo Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing a ...

ship-burial, termed "the most important single discovery in British archaeology." His initial proposal, made in 1919, was for a tower of that would have cost between £5,000 and £10,000. The funds could not be raised, and in 1923 Maryon proposed a structure of half that height. Construction began that November, and the memorial was dedicated the following June. The finished memorial, which cost £2,750, is a brick tower with a clock, a bell, and a bronze roll of honour listing the names of more than 140 people who died in the war. The scope of the memorial was expanded following the

Second World War 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 ...

, and in May 1953 a panel with more than 70 names of the dead from that conflict was unveiled. It now also commemorates those who died in the

war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

; in 2012 a plaque was unveiled honouring

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Rupert Thorneloe Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Stuart Michael Thorneloe, MBE (17 October 1969 – 1 July 2009) was a British Army officer who was killed in action on 1 July 2009 near Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. Thorneloe is the highest-ran ...

, , a 1991 graduate of the University whose 2009 death made him the highest-ranking officer of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

killed in action since the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. On 12 February 1987, the memorial was designated 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 ...

, a status given for its special architectural or historic interest. On 9 November 2018, the University of Reading announced plans to add nine additional names of servicemen who died in the First World War to the memorial.

References

{{University of Reading Clock towers in the United Kingdom Grade II listed buildings in Reading Military history of Berkshire Military history of Reading, Berkshire Monuments and memorials in Berkshire World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England 1924 establishments in England