Municipal War Memorial – Leeds, UK - World War I Memorials and Monuments on Waymarking.com

This memorial was originally unveiled on 10th October 1922 about a mile away in City Square by Viscount Lascelles, the Earl of Harewood and dedicated by the Bishop of Ripon. The architect was Sir Reginald Blomfield and the sculptor was H C Fehr. It was funded by public subscription and cost £6,000.

There were three figures on the memorial. On the right hand side is a figure of St. George slaying a dragon which represented war. On the left hand side is a female figure representing peace. On the top of the plinth was a statue of Winged Victory.

On each of the four corners of the stone base is an owl, to represent the City of Leeds. The City coat of arms contains Eagle Owls, and Leeds has become famous for its owls because there are many small owl figures on buildings throughout the city.

On the other sides are relief carvings of regimental colours, with wreaths underneath them. The four panels have the following inscriptions.

Front TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD
Back HONOUR TO THE FALLEN
Side INVICTIS PAX (below the Female figure of Peace)
Side PRO PATRIA (below St. George and the Dragon)

In 1936 changes were made to the traffic system in City Square and the memorial was removed, and then installed at its present location in a new garden of rest on 28th October 1937. The memorial was then re-dedicated.

In 1940 a crack was found in the Winged Victory statue and it was taken down for repairs. Due to fears of bomb damage during air raids in the Second World War it was not replaced until 1946. At this point it was changed to be a combined WWI and WWII memorial. In 1965 the Winged Victory was again damaged during a storm and it was taken down again, and the plinth was topped with marble.

In 1990 it was decided to add a new statue to the top of the memorial. This was sculpted by Ian Judd, but this time the figure was a Winged Angel of Peace, perhaps reflecting a change of attitude in the 72 years since the end of the First World War. The statue was unveiled and dedicated at a Remembrance Day Ceremony on 10th November 1991.

Date the Monument or Memorial was built or dedicated: 10/10/1922 Private or Public Monument?: Government Name of the Private Organization or Government Entity that built this Monument: Leeds City Council Geographic Region where the Monument is located: Europe Website for this Monument: [Web Link] Physical Address of Monument: Victoria Gardens The Headrow Leeds, West Yorkshire United Kingdom LS1 3AB Rate this waymark: Photo or photos will be uploaded.: yes

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/26/2013 greysman visited it