British Army 2nd Division World War I Memorial

British Army 2nd Division World War I Memorial

A stone cross memorial erected in 1923 at Hospital Hill, Knollys' Road, Aldershot, designed by Captain Scott. The memorial comprises a stone cross topped by a gable motif, with a fluted shaft mounted on a hexagonal socket. The octagonal base displays the divisional sign of crossed keys. An inscription on the socket reads: "In memory of the Officers WOs, NCOs and men of the 2nd Division who fell in the war 1914-1918". Additional inscriptions on other sides of the socket detail the divisional troops, infantry brigades and regiments. The base carries the inscription: "Grant them O Lord eternal rest".

The 2nd Division of the British Army was formed by Sir Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington) in 1809 for service in the Peninsular War. It was one of the first British formations deployed to France in 1914 as part of the British Expeditionary Force Infantry Corps, commanded by Major-General C C Monroe. The Division remained on the Western Front throughout most of the First World War, participating in major engagements including the Battle of Mons, the First Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Loos, and several phases of the Battle of the Somme. After the war, the Division formed part of the occupation force. The memorial was erected in 1923 as a commemoration of those who fell during 1914-1918. It stands at Aldershot, which had been established in 1852 as the British Army's first permanent training ground, purpose-built to accommodate large-scale manoeuvres and accessed conveniently by the new railways serving London, naval arsenals, and the major ports.