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George Blackall Simonds

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George Blackall Simonds
Portrait of Simonds, 1874
Born(1843-10-06)6 October 1843
Reading,England
Died16 December 1929(1929-12-16)(aged 86)
NationalityEnglish
Known forSculpture
Notable workThe Falconer(1873)
Maiwand Lion(1886)
Statue of Queen Victoria(1887)
Statue of George Palmer(1891)

George Blackall Simonds(6 October 1843 – 16 December 1929[1]) was an English sculptor and a director ofH & G Simonds BreweryinReading, Berkshire.[2]

Biography

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George was the second son of George Simonds Senior, of Reading, director of H & G Simonds, and Mary Anne, the daughter of William Boulger ofBradfield.[1]His grandfather was the Reading brewer and bankerWilliam Blackall Simonds.[1]Simonds added Blackall to his name after the death of his brother, Blackall Simonds II, in 1905.[1]He was a brother-in-law of the portrait painterJohn Collingham Mooreand a cousin of the botanistGeorge Simonds Boulger.

Simonds served as the inaugural Master of theArt Workers' Guildin 1884-85. His best known works areThe Falconer(1873) inCentral Park,New York City,and theMaiwand Lion(1886) in theForbury Gardens,Reading,England.[1]

In 1922, Simonds temporarily came out of retirement to build the war memorial in Bradfield, the village where he lived in Berkshire. This commemorates the deaths of local men in theFirst World War,including his son, a lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion theSouth Wales Borderers.[n 1]

In 2005, users ofReading Borough Librariesvoted Simonds winner of the 'Great People of Reading' poll.[citation needed]

Works

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Notes

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  1. ^His son, George Prescott Blackall Simonds, died aged 33 on 26 September 1914 in the opening weeks of the war. He was among the missing and is commemorated on theLa Ferte-sous-Jouarre Memorial.[3]

References

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  1. ^abcdeSimonds, Raymond (2004)."George Blackall Simonds".Royal Berkshire History.Nash Ford Publishing.Retrieved7 March2007.
  2. ^"Simonds Brewery".BBC Berkshire.Retrieved7 March2007.
  3. ^"Casualty Details: Blackall Simonds, George Prescott".Commonwealth War Graves Commission.Retrieved7 August2016.
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