St Saviour’s War Memorial, Southwark

St Saviour’s War Memorial is a First World War memorial constructed in 1922. It is located on a paved area at the centre of Borough High Street, near several other listed buildings.

The memorial is made of Portland stone and bronze. It features a tall, rectangular pedestal with a deeply moulded cornice and foot, set on a plinth above a single-step chamfered base. A bronze figure of an advancing infantryman, depicted in a crouching pose with a bayonet-fixed rifle, tops the pedestal. Detailed depictions of the soldier's dress, weaponry, and equipment are present. The north and south faces of the pedestal have convex projections featuring allegorical relief carvings; the south face shows St George and the Dragon, while the north face portrays a mourning woman with an infant embracing a dove. Bronze relief panels on the east and west faces depict, respectively, a naval battle scene viewed from a destroyer’s gun deck and an aerial combat scene. These panels use a combination of shallow and higher relief to create depth and perspective. Above the panels, carved in relief on the moulded cornice, are the coats of arms of the parish and borough.

Inscriptions are carved beneath the bronze panels on the pedestal in incised lettering. The east side inscription reads, “GIVE HONOUR TO THE MEN OF ST. SAVIOUR’S SOUTHWARK/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE EMPIRE 1914 - 1918/ THEIR NAMES ARE INSCRIBED WITHIN/ THE PARISH CHURCH/ MAY THEIR MEMORY LIVE FOR EVER IN THE MINDS OF MEN.” The west side inscription reads, "THIS MEMORIAL WAS ERECTED BY/ THE PARISHIONERS OF/ SAINT SAVIOUR’S SOUTHWARK/ IN THE YEAR 1922."