This statue of the King is located in Bangkok's Lampini Park.
The larger than life work depicts him standing in military uniform with his left hand steadying a sword to the ground. His right hand holds an object that looks like an over-sized pen. The 1942 piece is by the Italian sculptor Corrado Feroci.
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramentharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua (... or Phra Bat Somdet Phra Ramathibodi Si Sintharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua ..., or Rama VI (1 January 1880 – 25 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1910 until his death. King Vajiravudh is known for his efforts to create and promote Siamese nationalism. His reign was characterized by Siam's movement further towards democracy and minimal participation in World War I...
Even before coronation, Vajiravudh swiftly passed several reforms. He organized Siam’s Defence and established military academies. He created the rank of General for the first time in Siam, with his uncle Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse as the first Siamese general.
His first act following his accession to the throne was to build the Royal Pages College which was subsequently renamed Vajiravudh College by King Rama VII to honour his brother. It was built as an all boy boarding school in the same tradition as English public schools such as Eton and Harrow. The school was built instead of a royal monastery - a custom of Thai kings, as King Vajiravudh deemed that there were already too many temples in Bangkok. In his own hand written letter, King Vajiravudh wrote that "In the Royal Pages College, what I want is not so much to turn out model boys, all of the same standard, all brilliant scholars with thousands of marks each, as to turn out efficient young men - young men who will be physically and morally clean, and who will be looking forward keenly to take up whatever burden the future may lay upon them". Later he also raised the Civil Servant School to Chulalongkorn Academy for Civil Officials – then Chulalongkorn University. Both Vajiravudh College and Chulalongkorn University still benefit from the personal funds that King Vajiravudh set aside for educational use at the two elite institution up till today. He also improved Siamese healthcare systems and set up some of the earliest public hospitals in Siam; Vajira Hospital and Chulalongkorn Hospital in 1912 and 1914 respectively.
In 1911, he established the Boy Scouts ... Tiger Cubs) in Siam (with an adult arm disbanded in the latter part of his reign called the Wild Tiger Corps ... On 11 November 1911, Vajiravudh's coronation was held with royalties from Europe and Japan as guests – for the first time in Siam to host international parties. In December, the first airplane was flown in Siam.
Early years of Vajiravudh's administration was largely dominated by his two uncles - Prince Damrong and Prince Devawongse - both of them Chulalongkorn's right hand men. However, he disagreed with Prince Damrong, the Minister of Interior over Prince Damrong's negotiation of Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 that ceded four sultanates to the British Empire.
Vajiravudh also reformed his father's monthon system by imposing the paks (Thai: ???) or regions over the administrative monthons. Each pak was governed by an Uparaja (viceroy) directly in command of the king. The Uparaja presided over the intendants of monthons in the region - thus grabbing local administrative powers in his hands - much to the dismay of Prince Damrong."