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24th East Surrey Division War Memorial

1924 establishments in England1924 sculpturesBritish military memorials and cemeteriesBuildings and structures completed in 1924Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth
Grade II* listed monuments and memorialsMilitary memorials in LondonOutdoor sculptures in LondonWorld War I memorials in England
War Memorial, Battersea Park 03
War Memorial, Battersea Park 03

24th East Surrey Division War Memorial is a First World War memorial in Battersea Park, London. The unusual avant-garde design by Eric Kennington, his first public commission, was unveiled in 1924. It became a Grade II* listed building in 2005.The memorial commemorates the service of the 24th Division, a British infantry division which served on the Western Front in the First World War. The Division was raised in September 1914 as part of Lord Kitchener's New Army, and served on the Western Front, in the Battle of Loos in 1915, through the Battle of Delville Wood and the Battle of Guillemont in 1916, the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Battle of Messines in 1917, to the Battle of the Sambre in 1918. It was disbanded in 1919, having suffered the loss of over 35,000 men killed, wounded and missing. Kennington had served in two battalions of the London Regiment, the 1/22nd (County of London) Battalion (the Artists Rifles) and then the 13th (County of London) Battalion (the Kensingtons), later becoming a war artist. He undertook the commission for free, buying the £300 stone himself. Pictures of a 13.5 inches (340 mm) bronze maquette were published in the Illustrated London News in November 1922. The final Portland stone memorial stands 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) high. It comprises a group of three infantry soldiers, in full kit with helmets and rifles; a serpent encircles their feet. Three figures are based on: Trooper Morris Clifford Thomas, of the Machine Gun Corps (right); Sergeant J Woods, of the 9th Battalion, Royal Sussex (centre) and Robert Graves, of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers (left). The three soldiers are mounted on a columnar base of three parts, which bears the inscription "XXIV Division France 1914–1918"; the base is also encircled by inscriptions showing the twenty badges of the Division's constituent units. These inscriptions were carved by Lucy Sampson. The base stands on two circular steps, and the whole is surrounded by a circular hedge. The completed memorial was unveiled on 4 October 1924 by Field Marshal Lord Plumer and the Bishop of Southwark Cyril Garbett. The ceremony was attended by a guard of honour, and an address was delivered by the Division's commander from October 1915 to May 1917, Sir John Capper, who mentioned that the unit lost 4,865 men from all ranks killed, 24,000 wounded and 6,000 missing The memorial became a Grade II* listed building in 2005.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article 24th East Surrey Division War Memorial (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

24th East Surrey Division War Memorial
Central Avenue, London Battersea (London Borough of Wandsworth)

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N 51.480530555556 ° E -0.15373333333333 °
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Central Avenue

Central Avenue
SW11 4NJ London, Battersea (London Borough of Wandsworth)
England, United Kingdom
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War Memorial, Battersea Park 03
War Memorial, Battersea Park 03
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Chelsea Bridge
Chelsea Bridge

Chelsea Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames in west London, connecting Chelsea on the north bank to Battersea on the south bank, and split between the City of Westminster, the London Borough of Wandsworth and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. There have been two Chelsea Bridges, on the site of what was an ancient ford. The first Chelsea Bridge was proposed in the 1840s as part of a major development of marshlands on the south bank of the Thames into the new Battersea Park. It was a suspension bridge intended to provide convenient access from the densely populated north bank to the new park. Although built and operated by the government, tolls were charged initially in an effort to recoup the cost of the bridge. Work on the nearby Chelsea Embankment delayed construction and so the bridge, initially called Victoria Bridge, did not open until 1858. Although well-received architecturally, as a toll bridge it was unpopular with the public, and Parliament felt obliged to make it toll-free on Sundays. The bridge was less of a commercial success than had been anticipated, partly because of competition from the newly built Albert Bridge nearby. It was acquired by the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1877, and the tolls were abolished in 1879. The bridge was narrow and structurally unsound, leading the authorities to rename it Chelsea Bridge to avoid the Royal Family's association with a potential collapse. In 1926 it was proposed that the old bridge be rebuilt or replaced, due to the increased volume of users from population growth, and the introduction of the automobile. It was demolished during 1934–1937, and replaced by the current structure, which opened in 1937. The new bridge was the first self-anchored suspension bridge in Britain, and was built entirely with materials sourced from within the British Empire. During the early 1950s it became popular with motorcyclists, who staged regular races across the bridge. One such meeting in 1970 erupted into violence, resulting in the death of one man and the imprisonment of 20 others. Chelsea Bridge is floodlit from below during the hours of darkness, when the towers and cables are illuminated by 936 feet (285 m) of light-emitting diodes. In 2008 it achieved Grade II listed status. In 2004 a footbridge was opened beneath the southern span, carrying the Thames Path under the bridge.