Swanley War Memorial
SWANLEY WAR MEMORIAL, ST MARY'S ROAD
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1392300
- Date first listed:
- 05-Nov-2007
- List Entry Name:
- Swanley War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- SWANLEY WAR MEMORIAL, ST MARY'S ROAD
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1392300
- Date first listed:
- 05-Nov-2007
- List Entry Name:
- Swanley War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- SWANLEY WAR MEMORIAL, ST MARY'S ROAD
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- SWANLEY WAR MEMORIAL, ST MARY'S ROAD
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Kent
- District:
- Sevenoaks (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Swanley
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 51215 68746
Reasons for Designation
The war memorial at Swanley is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* As an eloquent witness to the impact of tragic world events on this relatively small Kentish town * For the high quality bronze statue by the London sculptor L F Roslyn who designed many war memorials * For the local and national historic interest as a memorial to the death of Staff Paymaster Joseph T Geddes, the first British officer to be killed in action in World War I
Details
This List entry has been amended to add sources for further reading (30/11/2016)
SWANLEY
994/0/10026 ST MARY'S ROAD
05-NOV-07 SWANLEY WAR MEMORIAL
II
War Memorial. Portland stone with bronze sculpture and plaques designed by the sculptor Louis Frederick Roslyn. 1922.
DESCRIPTION: The allegorical bronze statue of 'The Spirit of Sacrifice' (according to an article in the local paper after the dedication), by the sculptor Louis Frederick Roslyn of South Kensington, is a draped, winged, female figure standing on a globe. She holds a laurel wreath in her right hand and a downward pointing sword, grasped by the blade, in her out-stretched left hand. The statue is mounted atop a tall Portland stone obelisk which rises from a square plinth with a two step square base. Inscribed on the east face of the obelisk is the following inscription: TO THE / GLORY OF GOD / AND IN GRATEFUL / MEMORY OF THE / MEN OF / SWANLEY / WHO/ LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES / IN THE / GREAT WAR / 1914-1918. Below this inscription is a bronze wreath and below this a bronze tablet stating: AMONG THE NAMES RECORDED HERE IS THAT / OF STAFF PAYMASTER JOSEPH T. GEDGE. THE FIRST / BRITISH OFFICER TO FALL IN THE GREAT WAR. / KILLED ON H.M.S. AMPHION AUGUST . 6 . 1914. Added below this plaque, on the plinth of the memorial, is a bronze plaque with the inscription: IN THE MEMORY OF THE MEN OF SWANLEY PARISH / WHO DIED ON ACTIVE SERVICE / WORLD WAR II 1939-1945 followed by the 28 names of the fallen. On the north and south faces of the obelisk are two identical large, wreath-topped, plaques recalling, in relief, the 104 names of the fallen in two columns.
HISTORY: The Swanley War Memorial was paid for by public subscription and unveiled at Swanley Cross (350m south-east of its present location) in March 1922. The sculpture was designed by L F Roslyn who had designed several war memorials including one at The Slopes, Buxton, a model of which had been exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1919. The 'Observer and District Times' of 10th March 1922 commented that since the memorial recorded Staff-Paymaster Joseph Gedge, of Swanley, killed in action on August 6th 1914, when HMS Amphion was sunk in the Thames Estuary and the first British officer killed in action in World War I, it was, in a sense, unique. The memorial was moved to its current location and rededicated on 26th October 1980.
The war memorial at Swanley is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* As an eloquent witness to the impact of tragic world events on this relatively small Kentish town
* For the high quality bronze statue by the London sculptor L F Roslyn who designed many war memorials
* For the local and national historic interest as a memorial to the death of Staff Paymaster Joseph T Geddes, the first British officer to be killed in action in World War I
Sources
Observer and District Times, 10 March 1922
United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials Ref: 1149
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 503004
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Observer and District Times in 10 March, (1922)
Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 30/11/2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/157976
War Memorials Register, accessed 30/11/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/1149
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 10-Jun-2026 at 05:39:14.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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