Royal Artillery Memorial - History

History

The First World War, which took place between 1914 and 1918, saw the extensive use of artillery, particularly on the Western Front. Technical advances, combined with the relatively static nature of trench warfare, made these guns a key element of the conflict: over half the casualties in the war were caused by artillery. Artillery guns and their crews were themselves targets, however, and 49,076 members of the Royal Artillery died during the conflict. In the years after the war, many former servicemen, including gunners, found the scale of the losses difficult to deal with, or felt that the events challenged their trust in the political leadership that had led them into the war. Visual reminders of the conflict were often avoided: mutilated servicemen, for example, were banned in the 1920s from joining in veterans' marches, and those with facial injuries often hid them in public.

The Royal Artillery War Commemoration Fund (RAWCF) was formed in 1918, made up a mixture of senior officers and other ranks. The RAWCF's intention was to remember the artillery men who had died during the war, and after some discussions of various options, including purchasing a house for wounded soldiers, or building a number of small shrines across the country, the RAWCF decided to construct a single memorial to the fallen Royal Artillery servicemen. Memorials to lost servicemen from the previous major conflict, the South African War fought between 1899 and 1902, had, however, been widely criticised as being unimaginative and unimpressive. As a result of these problems, the prominent artist Sir Edward Poynter had put forward recommendations that far more care, time and funding be given to the construction of future war memorials, which were taken on board by the RAWCF. The RAWCF sought a design that would be "unmistakably recognisable" as an artillery monument, and were insistent that the eventual designer take detailed advice from a junior officer who had served in the war.

The RAWCF first examined a design by Captain Adrian Jones, who had produced the Boer War Cavalry Memorial a few years before, but his design was rejected. Next, the committee contacted the artists Edwin Lutyens, Herbert Baker and Aston Webb. Lutyens' sent in three designs, each costed at less than £15,000 (less than £607,000 in 2009 terms), but they were felt to be too similar to the Cenotaph and to give insufficient prominence to the artillery. After the RAWCF insisted that a howitzer be prominently incorporated into the designs, Lutyens withdrew. Baker disagreed with the concept of single service monuments, but submitted a proposal costed at over £25,000 (over £1,010,000 in 2009 terms), which was declined and Baker subsequently withdrew from the project; Webb declined to submit a proposal and also withdrew.

The committee then approached Charles Jagger in early 1921. Jagger had been trained as a metal engraver before attending the Royal College of Art. He served in the infantry during the First World War and was injured at the battles of Gallipoli and Neuve-Église, being awarded the Military Cross. At the end of the war, Jagger became involved in the design of war memorials, in particular the stark, brutal sculpture at the Hoylake and West Kirby War Memorial. Jagger was approached by the RAWCF both because of his reputation as a designer and because of his service as an infantry officer, although the American artist John Sargent, a patron of Jagger's, may have encouraged the committee to consider the young artist. The RAWCF requested that he submit a model for a realist sculpture, to include a group of soldiers in bronze on a pedestal.

Jagger decided to work with the architect Lionel Pearson, who designed the stone structure of the memorial, and through June and July 1921 the RAWCF and the authorities considered the proposal. Jagger's model was similar to the eventual memorial, but had only two gunners at either end of an oblong memorial; the howitzer on the top was smaller than the eventual version, and pointed sideways, rather than lengthways along the pedestal. In reporting to the committee, Jagger said that he felt strongly that the design should unashamably focus on the events of the war, noting that it "should in every sense be a war memorial". Jagger explained that the artillery had "terrific power" and was the "last word in force", and that the howitzer he had chosen was the only suitable weapon to symbolise those capabilities. There were concerns on the committee that the design would offend some members of the public, especially women, but the RAWCF eventually voted 50 to 15 in favour of accepting the design and the proposed cost of £25,000. Jagger was formally awarded the contract for the memorial in March 1922.

Due to the pressures of other projects, Jagger did not begin work on the memorial until the following year, by which point he had decided to alter the design. The revised memorial would be a third-larger than before, forming a crucifix, guarded by three bronze soldiers; after much discussion, it was agreed that the howitzer would point south to produce a pleasing silhouette from the park. A lengthy, year-long debate occurred within the RAWCF as to what inscription should be placed on the memorial, adding to the delay. Jagger then decided that the fourth side of the memorial should feature a dead soldier; after considerable debate, the RAWCF also agreed to this modification. Jagger's work continued to take longer than planned, partially due to shortages of staff, the need to approve each amendment to the plan and practical problems on the site itself. The names of his models for two of the statues are known: William Fosten for the Driver and another ex-gunner called Metcalfe for the Ammunition Carrier.

The work was opened four months late on October 18, 1925 by Prince Arthur and the Reverend Alfred Jarvis. Despite the delay, the RAWCF and Jagger left on very good terms, the committee exceptionally pleased with the final memorial to the Royal Artillery.

Over the years, pollution and water penetration caused damage to the bronzes and stonework. English Heritage conducted a major restoration of the memorial during 2011, completed in time for Remembrance Day.