Croydon Cenotaph facts for kids
The cenotaph in 2010
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| Coordinates | 51°22′20″N 0°05′58″W / 51.372281°N 0.099355°WCoordinates: 51°22′20″N 0°05′58″W / 51.372281°N 0.099355°W |
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| Location | Katharine Street, Croydon, London, England |
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| Opening date | 21 October 1921 |
| Dedicated to | War dead |
Croydon Cenotaph is a war memorial, in Croydon, London, England. It is located outside the Croydon Clocktower arts complex, on Katharine Street in Croydon.
The cenotaph, made from Portland stone, was designed by James Burford ARIBA and was unveiled on 22 October 1921, to commemorate local victims of World War I.
It is framed by two bronze statues of seated figures by Paul Raphael Montford, cast at the M. Maneti foundry. One depicts a soldier of the East Surrey Regiment, dressing his own wounded arm; the other a woman holding a child in her left arm and a letter in her outstretched right hand: her distress is evident, and "[w]e must presume that the news of her husband's perhaps fatal wounds has just reached her". The figure of the soldier was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1921.
The cenotaph's inscription reads:
1914 1918
1939 1945
AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE
WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN
WARS AND CONFLICTS SINCE
A TRIBUTE TO THE MEN
AND WOMEN OF CROYDON
WHO DIED AND SUFFERED
The dates "1939 1945" were added after World War II ended. The AND IN MEMORY ... SINCE lines were added in 1997.
The cenotaph was granted Grade II listed status on 19 November 1973, both in its own right and as part of a group of municipal buildings, legally protecting it from unauthorised modification or demolition. Its status was upgraded to Grade II* on 27 July 2017.
A roll of honour is kept in the library.
