Anglo-Belgian Memorial, London

Coordinates: 51°30′31.40″N 0°07′14.26″W / 51.5087222°N 0.1206278°W / 51.5087222; -0.1206278
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Anglo-Belgian Memorial
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For Assistance given by the UK to Belgium during World War I, particularly sheltering Belgian refugees.
Unveiled12 October 1920
Location
Victoria Embankment, London, England

near 
London
Designed bySir Reginald Blomfield, Victor Rousseau (sculpture)
Burials by nation
United Kingdom
Burials by war
World War I
"To the British nation from the grateful people of Belgium, 1914–1918"

51°30′31.40″N 0°07′14.26″W / 51.5087222°N 0.1206278°W / 51.5087222; -0.1206278

The memorial in 2014

The Anglo-Belgian Memorial, also known as the Belgian Gratitude Memorial, Belgian Refugees Memorial, or the Belgian Monument to the British Nation, is a war memorial on

First World War, and in particular for sheltering thousands of Belgian refugees who fled from the war. It is a Grade II* listed building
.

Plans for a Belgian war memorial in London were proposed by a group of Belgians in 1916, to be funded by public subscription. The memorial was designed by Sir

. It depicts a Belgian woman, accompanied by a boy and a girl carrying garlands of flowers. The bronze stands on a stone plinth which bears the inscription, "To the British nation from the grateful people of Belgium, 1914–1918".

The central group is sheltered by a curved screen wall of

.

Vandals damaged the memorial in July 1920, while it was under construction, and for a time it was guarded by a nightwatchman. It was unveiled by

Anglo-Belgian Memorial was erected in Brussels in 1923, designed by British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger
.

The memorial became a Grade II listed building in 1970, and was upgraded to Grade II* in 2014.

  • Justice (left)
    Justice (left)
  • Central bronze sculpture group
    Central bronze sculpture group
  • Honour (right)
    Honour (right)
  • Memorial in the interwar period
    Memorial in the interwar period

See also

References

  • Historic England. "Belgian Monument to the British Nation (1066168)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  • London: Anglo-Belgian Memorial, Twentieth Century Society
  • "The London War Memorials". English Heritage. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
  • "First World War Centenary Marked by Upgrading Listed Status of London War Memorials". Historic England. 16 July 2014. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  • Belgian Refugees Memorial
  • Anglo-Belgian Memorial – The Embankment, London, UK, waymarking.com
  • "Belgian Monument to the British Nation". IWM War Memorials Register. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  • Monument: Belgium's Gratitude, London Remembers
  • Belgian Memorial Unveiled On Embankment 1920, British Pathé