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'Destiny' Memorial

This Grade II listed memorial is set in the wide curving corner of a flowerbed in Albion Place Gardens, Ramsgate, Kent. The main feature of the memorial is a female figure, partially covered by drapery, seated on a plinth. The statue, called Destiny, is made from Roach bed Portland stone and was sculpted by Gilbert Bayes RA, adapted from Anatkh (Destiny). A flagged area around the statue leads down to three steps in front of the memorial, and behind the statue is a low Portland stone wall with a curved top surface. Gilt glass-paste mosaic tiles are set in a ring around the base of the statue, and narrow flowerbeds flank the paved area on either side.

The memorial has received multiple grants and the summary details of this record relate to the most recent grant.

The position of the memorial, exposed to the coastal weather, meant that the it was becoming increasingly damaged. It had also suffered badly from an incident of vandalism in 1968. In March 2004 English Heritage gave a grant of £2300 towards work to clean the memorial, remove old paint and to repair and re-point the memorial and apply a protective Portland stone coloured lime-wash.

In June 2004 War Memorials Trust gave £300 towards soft landscaping to lower and grade the soil level of the adjacent flower beds to prevent spillage on to the paving.

The memorial had been presented by to Ramsgate by Dame Janet Stancomb-Wills at a ceremony on 17th December 1920. The ceremony was attended by the Mayor Mr R W Philpott, the Rev. E L A Hertslet, Gilbert Bayes, the statue's sculptor, several councillors and other leading townspeople. The memorial was unveiled by the Mayoress. Originally inscribed on the plinth was the epigraph Destiny and a low-relief frieze representing all branches of the services – land, sea and air – who contributed to the war effort, as the memorial was dedicated to all who had contributed, not solely to those who had lost their lives. The depictions also acknowledged the contribution of animals to the war effort. These representations can no longer be made out because of the weathering of the stone.

The epigraph on the wall behind the memorial reads

The Great War 1914 – 1918 To all who served - honour.

The restored memorial was unveiled on 17th December 2004, the 84th anniversary of the original unveiling.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM754
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 1979

The National Heritage List for England

Information about the sculptor Gilbert Bayes

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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