Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice

Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice

This Grade II* listed memorial was conceived in 1887, erected in 1899, and formally unveiled in 1900. It was designed by G F Watts, with ceramic memorial plaques created by William De Morgan and, after 1907, by Doulton of Lambeth. The building was constructed by J Simpson & Son, with a memorial to Watts himself carved by T H Wren.

The memorial stands within Postman's Park, the former burial ground of Christ Church Greyfriars and St Botolph, Aldersgate. It comprises a timber loggia with a pantile roof built against a red brick wall faced in brown glazed brick, stone and concrete. Memorial plaques in glazed terracotta are fixed to this rear wall. The structure includes a timber bench seat and a red quarry tile floor, along with a carved wooden memorial to Watts.

The loggia spans six bays, supported on square section timber posts with shaped brackets standing on chamfered stone bases. The posts are arranged between offset masonry piers clad in glazed brick. The roof is raked and tiled, with exposed rafters and timber linings visible inside. The rear wall is constructed in red brick in English bond. The arcade and rear wall are bound together by horizontal bands of glazed brick that separate the memorial panels.

The memorial comprises 54 panels arranged principally in six bays of four, displayed in two horizontal rows. The upper tier panels were created by William De Morgan: the first four (Griffin, Peart, Rogers, and Funnell) were unveiled in July 1900; a further nine (Boxall, Cazaly, Mills, Rabbeth, Ayres, Cranmer Cambridge, Garnish, Clinton and Onslow) were added by May 1902; and a subsequent eleven in the same style were added in December 1905. These De Morgan panels feature inscriptions in blue or green on a pale green base, flanked by vertical panels with two repeated stylised patterns in off-white on a green base.

The lower tier comprises 24 panels (Ford to Pemberton), mostly unveiled in August 1908 and manufactured by Doulton of Lambeth. These have inscriptions in blue on an off-white base, flanked by vertical panels with alternating flowers in blue and buff. The first bay contains two additional panels: Smith (installed 1919) and Pitt (2007), manufactured by or in the style of Doulton. The second bay contains four further panels (1930), also made by or in the style of Doulton.

A timber bench with solid seat and back is built beneath the panels on a base clad in glazed brick. The floor is of red quarry tiles. A wooden aedicular niche in the centre of the rear wall encloses a carved, robed figure of Watts by T H Wren, added around 1907. The plinth is inscribed: "In memoriam George Frederic Watts who desiring to honour heroic self sacrifice placed these records here". The frieze inscription appears to read "The utmost for the [….] est", though it is indistinct. The wall plate of the loggia is inscribed "In commemoration of heroic self sacrifice 1899".

Each panel provides a brief summary of the event and its date. The memorial commemorates predominantly men from diverse backgrounds—civilians, members of the Metropolitan Police and Fire Brigade, labourers, a bargeman, a lighterman, a medical officer, a surgeon, and a member of the clergy—who died performing acts of self sacrifice. Nine women are commemorated, who died saving other women or children in their care, including Sarah Smith, a pantomime artiste. Eight children died attempting to save another child or sibling.