Marshal Foch Statue - Buckingham Palace Road, London, UK - Exact Replicas on Waymarking.com

Opposite Victoria station, across Buckingham Palace Road, is a copy of the statue at Cassel, France, of Marshal Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) by Georges Mallisard. It was unveiled by the then Prince of Wales in June 1930 and commemorates France's most famous general and Allied leader of the Great War, who was made a field marshal of Britain and given the Order of Merit. On the side of the plinth are inscribed Foch's words:

I am conscious
of having served England
as I served
my own country

On the front of the plinth is inscribed:

Foch
1851 - 1929

On the rear of the plinth is inscribed:

Marechal Ferdinand Foch
marechal de l'armee
Britannique, grand-croix
de la legion d'honneur
medaille militaire
membre de L'Academie
Francaise GCB OM DCL
marshal of France 1918
generalissimo of the
allied armies 1918
British field marshal 1919

The statue of Marshal Foch is Grade II listed with the entry at the English Heritage website telling us:

Statue of Marshal Foch on S.E. side of gardens next to Buckingham Palace Road GV II Statue. Unveiled 1930. Georges Malissard sculptor. Bronze equestrian statue on Portland stone base. Replica of statue at Cassel.

The London Remembers website tells us about Foch:

Soldier and writer. Born in Tarbes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. He enlisted in the French army in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war. During the First World War he distinguished himself at the battle of the Marne, Ypres. Became Allied Commander-in-Chief in 1918. He wrote 'Principles of War' in 1919. At his death, he was interred in Les Invalides, Paris, next to Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Web Matters website has a brief article about the original in Cassel France. It also includes a photograph of the original. The plinth differs but the statues are identical:

In the 19th Century aprroximately twenty windmills crowned the hill of Cassel. The last one was badly damaged by fire and the mill from Arnèke, a few kilometres away, was brought here to replace it.

It is open to visit in the afternoon during the spring and summer. It still grinds flour and visitors all part with a wee sample. The entrance fee is 3€.

Just behind it is the statue of Maréchal Foch by Georges Malissard. It is on a pedestal of Soignies and Breton granite and was unveiled by President Poincaré in the presence of Foch on 7th July 1928.

Already tired Foch died a few months later on 20th March 1929 having outlived Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig by just over a year.

There is a copy of the statue in Grosvenor Gardens near Victoria Station in London.

The views from the ramparts are superb and plaques give details of directions and distances to numerous world wide sites.