Huddersfield Boer War Memorial

Summary

War memorial erected 1905 by Huddersfield Borough Council to commemorate the men of the town who died in the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Statue modelled by Benjamin Creswick after a design by Allan Stewart, and cast by Hart, Son, Peard & Co of London and Birmingham, artistic metalworkers.

Reasons for Designation

Huddersfield Boer War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as a witness to the impact of the Boer War on this community, which illustrates the emergence of war memorials erected by the public as a focus for remembrance;
* Design interest: a good example of a public war memorial erected after the Second Boer War, with a well-modelled statue by the notable sculptor Benjamin Creswick, after a design by Allan Stewart, a prominent military artist of the period;
* Historic Association and group value: it stands within a Grade II registered landscape, which contains several listed structures.

History

An initial attempt in 1900 to raise a memorial to 12 Huddersfield men who had died in the Second Boer War had failed, before this monument, paid for by public subscription at a cost of £536, was unveiled on 20 May 1905 by General Sir John French, commander of the Cavalry Division in the Second Boer War. Known locally as the Fallen Heroes Memorial, it was the focus for an annual ceremony of remembrance, a role which it fulfilled until the unveiling of the First World War memorial in Greenhead Park in 1924.

The Second Boer War marked the emergence of outdoor war memorials erected and paid for by local communities as a focus for remembrance, a reflection both on Edwardian interest in commemoration, and society’s growing identification with the armed forces. This practice was to become ubiquitous in the aftermath of the First World War.

The artist and sculptor Benjamin Creswick (1853-1946), a protégé of Ruskin and Master of Modelling and Modelled Design at the Birmingham School of Art from 1889-1918, was a notable figure in the Birmingham Arts and Crafts movement. The Scottish artist Allan Stewart (1865-1951), best known as a painter of heroic military scenes, worked for the Illustrated London News, in which capacity he went to South Africa as a ‘special artist’ during the Second Boer War.

Details

The memorial stands at the south-east of the park near the principal east-west avenue, and consists of a life-sized bronze statue of a soldier standing on an Aberdeen granite pedestal. The soldier is depicted in a contemplative stance upon a kopje (rocky mound) inscribed PRO PATRIA, clasping the barrel of his upturned rifle, in typical campaign attire with slouch hat, puttees, bandolier, pouch and water bottle. The pedestal has a moulded cornice and base, and stands on a square plinth and two-tier stepped base.

On the front of the pedestal a bronze panel with relief lettering reads IN MEMORY OF/ THE MEN FROM THIS DISTRICT/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 1899 - 1902/ THIS MONUMENT HAS BEEN/ ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION/ 1905. Below are the names of 28 men. A further panel on the pedestal base reads THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED BY / LIEUT. GENERAL SIR J. D. P. FRENCH K. C. B., K. C. M. G./ ON SATURDAY MAY 20TH 1905.

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, 31 January 2017.

Sources

Websites
University of Glasgow, Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, accessed 25/06/2015 from http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib4_1202748858
War Memorials Register, accessed 31 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/29273
War Memorials Online, accessed 31 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/95022

Other
“Huddersfield’s Fallen Heroes”, Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 22 May 1905, p8
Huddersfield Weekly Chronicle, 27 May 1905

End of official list entry

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