Great Western Railway War Memorial
| Great Western Railway War Memorial | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
GWR War Memorial, platform 1, Paddington
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| For employees of the Great Western Railway who gave their lives during the First World War | |
| Unveiled | 11 November 1922 |
| Location |
51°31′02″N 0°10′41″W / 51.51713°N 0.178172°WCoordinates: 51°31′02″N 0°10′41″W / 51.51713°N 0.178172°W near London, UK |
| Designed by | |
The Great Western Railway War Memorial is a monument in London, United Kingdom, to the memory of employees of the Great Western Railway who died during the First World War, and it is situated halfway along platform 1 at London Paddington station. The stonework was designed by the architect Thomas S. Tait, and the bronze figure by the sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger; the memorial was unveiled on Armistice Day in 1922 by Viscount Churchill.
Its dominant feature is a large bronze statue of a British First World War soldier dressed in battle gear, wearing a helmet, woollen scarf, and a greatcoat draped over his shoulders. The soldier is looking down, reading a letter from home.
On the stone surround are two stylised reliefs of the emblems of the Royal Navy (rope and anchor) and the Royal Air Force (eagle in flight). Inside the plinth was placed a sealed casket, which was made at the GWR's Swindon Works, containing a vellum roll upon which was inscribed the names of the 2,524 men who gave their lives.
To commemorate the founding of the Army Post Office Corps in 1882, its successor the Royal Engineers (Postal & Courier Services), commissioned Jill Tweed and Mike Smith to sculpt a life-size statue of the Great Western Railway War Memorial. The statue entitled Letter from Home was unveiled at Inglis Barracks, Mill Hill, London on 16 July 1982 by Queen Elizabeth II. In 2007 the statue was moved to RAF Northolt.
In 2014, as part of the First World War centenary commemorations, Jagger's GWR Memorial was featured – uncredited – in a project, "Letter to an Unknown Soldier", which invited members of the public to write a letter to the serviceman portrayed by the statue. It also featured in 2014's Talking Statues initiative.
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