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Huntingdon - South African War

The Grade II listed memorial to the men of Huntingdon who fell in the South Africa War is set back within the churchyard railings of All Saints’ Church on the High Street. It comprises a Portland limestone pillar on a base with an octagonal cupola above supported by six columns. The cupola houses a bronze statue of St. George, which is a copy of Donatello’s statue in Orsanmichele, Florence. The cupola is roofed with lead and copper and is topped with a glass lantern; there is an electric light within the lantern. There is a small cross on the roof of the cupola. The inscription is on the front of the base.

In December 2002 War Memorials Trust gave a grant of £250 towards a comprehensive programme of cleaning and repairing the stonework, re-painting the lettering, cleaning and repairing the cupola and lantern and cleaning the bronze statue. English Heritage also funded this work through the Grants for War Memorials scheme with a contribution of £2,865. The stonework and the bronze were both initially cleaned with water and a stiff bristled brush; algae was removed without biocide and the copper staining reduced using poultices but it was so deep-seated that it was found to be impossible to remove completely. Decayed areas of the roof battens were replaced with new oak, and the lead was replaced on the roof where it was in poor condition. The ironwork of the glazed lantern was brushed down before being treated with rust remover and primed with rust-inhibiting primer.

In 2017, a further grant award through War Memorials Trust Grants Scheme supported steam cleaning, re-pointing, protective works to the canopy and figure alongside re-gilding of the finial cross with 24 carat gold. SmartWater was applied as part of the In Memoriam 2014 initiative to deter the theft of metal from war memorials. Some wider works were undertaken to repairs to the setting.

The memorial was unveiled on 23rd October 1903 by Field Marshall Lord Grenfell, who had taken part in campaigns in South Africa and Egypt from the 1870s until the 1890s. After returning to the UK he was invested with the Order of St Michael and St George and spent some time carrying out civilian duties - including attending the coronation celebrations of Nicholas II of Russia – before returning to Egypt as a garrison commander. The architects were Edgar W. Davis and Alexander Scott-Gatty and the sculptor Gulielmo Tosi.

The inscription below the cupola reads

"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"

And on the front of the plinth

"Erected to the memory
of the Huntingdonshire men who died in
the South African War 1899-1902"

Below this is a list of names and regiments of the soldiers.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM942
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 287

The memorial is listed building number 53577

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

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