24th Division War Memorial

24th Division War Memorial
24th Division War Memorial
United Kingdom
	For the men of the24th Divisionwho were killed or who went missing in theFirst World War
Unveiled	4 October 1924;100 years ago
Location	51°28′49.91″N0°9′13.44″W/ 51.4805306°N 0.1537333°W; Battersea Park,London
Designed by	Eric Kennington
	XXIV DIVISION FRANCE 1914–1918
Listed Building– Grade II*
Official name	War memorial of the 24th Division, Battersea Park
Designated	24 August 2005
Reference no.	1391503

The24th Division War Memorialis aFirst World War memorialinBattersea Park,London. The unusual avant-garde design byEric Kennington,his first public commission, was unveiled in 1924. It became a Grade II*listed buildingin 2005.^[1]

The memorial commemorates the service of the24th Division,a British infantry division which served on theWestern Frontin the First World War. The Division was raised in September 1914 as part ofLord Kitchener'sNew Army,and served on the Western Front, in theBattle of Loosin 1915, through theBattle of Delville Woodand theBattle of Guillemontin 1916, theBattle of Vimy Ridgeand theBattle of Messinesin 1917, to theBattle of the Sambrein 1918. It was disbanded in 1919, having suffered the loss of over 35,000 men killed, wounded and missing.

Kennington had served in two battalions of theLondon Regiment,the 1/22nd (County of London) Battalion (theArtists Rifles) and then the 13th (County of London) Battalion (theKensingtons), later becoming awar artist.He undertook the commission for free, buying the £300 stone himself. Pictures of a 13.5 inches (340 mm) bronze maquette were published in theIllustrated London Newsin November 1922.

The finalPortland stonememorial stands 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) high. It comprises a group of three infantry soldiers, in full kit with helmets and rifles; a serpent encircles their feet. The three figures are based on: Trooper Morris Clifford Thomas, of theMachine Gun Corps(right); Sergeant J. Woods, of the 9th Battalion,Royal Sussex(centre) andRobert Graves,of the 3rd Battalion,Royal Welch Fusiliers(left). The three soldiers are mounted on a columnar base of three parts, which bears the inscription "XXIV DIVISION FRANCE 1914–1918";the base is also encircled by inscriptions showing the twenty badges of the Division's constituent units. These inscriptions were carved byLucy Sampson.The base stands on two circular steps, and the whole is surrounded by a circular hedge.

The completed memorial was unveiled on 4 October 1924 by Field MarshalLord Plumerand theBishop of Southwark,Cyril Garbett.The ceremony was attended by a guard of honour, and an address was delivered by the Division's commander from October 1915 to May 1917, SirJohn Capper,who mentioned that the unit lost 4,865 men from all ranks killed, 24,000 wounded and 6,000 missing.