St. George On World War I Memorial - Sale, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 25.487 W 002° 19.180
30U E 545207 N 5919741
This statue of St. George stands on a 20 foot tall plinth outside the town hall in the centre of Sale.
Waymark Code: WMJRAG
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/23/2013
Views: 3
St. George
St. George was a Christian Roman soldier from Palestine, who reached the rank of Tribunus in the Guard of the emperor Diocletian.
In AD 302 Diocletian issued an edict against Christians in the army and insisted that every 2nd one should renounce their faith and offer a sacrifice to the Roman Gods.
George appealed to the Emperor to reverse this decision, but Diocletian refused and tried to persuade George to do as he asked. When George refused Diocletian had him tortured and then decapitated in Nicomedia on April 23rd AD 303. This act by George persuaded Empress Alexandra and Athanasius a pagan priest to convert to Christianity and they too were martyred.
George’s body was returned to Palestine, and soon many Christians came to honour him as a martyr.
St. George is associated with the slaying of a dragon, a tale that was brought back from the Crusades in the Medieval period.
St George’s feast day is the 23rd April, the day on which he was martyred. He is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic (Westernand Eastern Rites), Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox churches.
He is also one of the most prominent military saints and one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers who each guard against diseases. In the case of St. George he protects the health of domestic animals.
He is usually portrayed slaying a dragon, often with a lance, or sometimes a sword. He also wears the Cross of St George, or sometimes it appears on his shield.
He is the Patron Saint of England, Georgia, Egypt, Bulgaria, Aragon, Catalonia, Romania,Ethiopia, Greece, India, Iraq, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, the Maltese Island of Gozo and a number of large cities.
He is represented with the cross of St. George, a red cross on a white background. This has been adopted as the flag of England, Republic of Genoa, Liguria, Georgia, Catalonia, Aragon and other places.
The Statue on the war memorial
In this granite life size statue he is standing, wearing chain mail, holding a shield with the Cross of St. George on the front.
He is standing in a mourning pose in memory of the men of Sale and Ashton On Mersey who gave their lives in the war.
The memorial was erected by public subscription and unveiled with a crowd of 10,000 people on 23rd May 1925.
Associated Religion(s): Christian
Statue Location: Outside Sale Town Hall
Entrance Fee: None
Artist: Arthur Sherwood Edwards
Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the statue. A waymarker and/or GPSr is not required to be in the image but it doesn't hurt.
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