Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Trophy (War Memorial), Crystal Palace Park

Summary

War memorial commemorating the service of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in the Great War.

Reasons for Designation

The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Trophy is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural Interest - a well-crafted and distinctive example of a memorial to the fallen of the First World War deploying maritime emblems such as a ship's bell.
* Historical Significance - the monument has strong historic and cultural significance, on both a local and national scale.

History

The memorial was conceived  by Captain Roberts-Wray, and his drawings were worked out by the architect, Mr JA Hale. Mr RH Hawkins was the sculptor, and Mr Philip Roffey carried out the constructional work. All of the above served at the Crystal Palace. It was unveiled by His Highness the Prince of Wales KG on 6 June 1931 and commemorates the service of Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) officers and men in the Great War. These include the 125,000 personnel who were trained at 'HMS Victory VI', a shore station which was located in the Crystal Palace building and grounds between 1914 and 1918. The memorial was damaged during World War II but restored in 1955. It was vandalised in the mid-1970s and consequently, in 1992, it was moved from its original site at HMS Victory Quarterdeck to its current location and restored.

Two dedicatory panels have been removed from the railings. One read: 'R.N.V.R Memorial Trophy/ This Trophy was unveiled on the 6th June/ 1931 by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales K.G./ to commemorate the service of R.N.V.R./ Officers and men in the Great War/ including 125,000 Officers and men who/ were trained for all branches of the/ Royal Navy at the Training Depot. HMS/ Victory VI at the Crystal Palace 1914-1918./ The trophy was damaged during the/ 1935-1945 War and was restored in 1955/ through the generosity of past and/ present members of the R.N.V.R. and/ their friends'. The second read: 'R.N.V.R. Memorial Trophy/ This trophy was damaged again in the mid/ 1970's [sic] and moved from the site of HMS/ Victory VI Quarterdeck to it's [sic] present site./ In 1992 the Trophy was restored through/ the generosity of the Old Hands of the/ R.N.R. and their friends. It was rededicated/ on the 6th June 1992 in the presence of/ Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Leach G.C.B./ to commemorate all men and women past/ and present of the Royal Naval Reserve Forces./ 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. A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, gave, once, her/ flowers to love, her ways to roam, a body of England's, breathing English air,/ washed by the rivers/ blessed by the suns of home./ Rupert Brooke, SUB LT. R.N.V.R.'. By 2000, the medallion, anchors and banner had also been removed from the table. The banner read: 'This trophy/ was unveiled by/ his Royal Highness/ the Prince of Wales KG/ on the 6th June 1931/ to commemorate the service of RNVR Officers, and Men in the Great War (names)'.

Details

The structure is of two parts: a hipped-roofed, timber-framed open-sided pavilion and within, a table and a memorial ship's bell. The ship's bell is supported by two large upturned dolphins with swirling tails, standing on a table that has angled legs carved in the form of rope. A bronze medallion depicting a ship in full sail was mounted on the front face of the table and flanked by two anchors but these elements have been removed, along with a banner mounted below the medallion.

The timber pavilion has a concrete platform, three square wooden posts to each corner, and a steeply-hipped slate roof with exposed square cut rafter feet. A series of iron bollards, linked by rope, surrounds the pavilion platform and railings enclose the whole monument, including a surrounding flowerbed. Two inscription panels were originally fixed to the railings, but both of these are missing.


This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 29/10/2012

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 9 February 2017.

Sources

Books and journals
Rason, P, Bromley War Memorials, (1999), 166

Websites
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Trophy, accessed from http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.11039/fromUkniwmSearch/1
War Memorials Register, accessed 9 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/11039
War Memorials Online, accessed 9 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/112529

Other
Fleet, Sir Henry Leach GCB, Crysal Palace London, Saturday 6th June 1992, Official Souvenir Brochure, 1992,

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry