Exeter City War Memorial

A First World War Memorial, by John Angel, commissioned in 1919 and dedicated in 1923, with a plaque added later to commemorate the Second World War.

MATERIALS: Devon granite stone and bronze statues.

PLAN: the memorial stands on a square base and is enclosed by two inner and outer walls that are separated by a public footpath.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is 9.4m high on a 6.1m high plinth. The plinth is cross shaped, with the intersections of the four arms having a chamfered finish, and is surmounted by an octagonal column. The column is topped by a 2.4m high bronze statue of NIKE, Greek goddess of Victory, who is holding up a laurel as a token of gratitude to Heaven and standing over a dragon representing the Demon of Tyranny and Wrong. The four additional figures on the plinth are THE SOLDIER at rest; THE SAILOR astride the hull of a ship with a figurehead in the form of the Exeter City Coat of Arms and motto ‘semper fidelis’; THE PRISONER OF WAR inspired by the work carried out by Lady Owen and a group of Exonians with prisoners of war in Germany; and THE VOLUNTARY AID DETACHMENT NURSE holding two bandages, and with a sheaf of corn and a shrapnel shell at her feet highlighting the work carried out by women during the First World War. At the top of the plinth is engraved: IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF EXETER AND DEVON WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1919 THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE. The memorial includes a cavity, within which has been placed a casket bearing the names of the 970 people of Exeter who gave their lives during the First World War; these names have also been inscribed in a book which was to be kept in the city archives. A bronze plaque was added below this which reads: THIS TABLET IS DEDICATED TO THOSE WHO FELL IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939 – 1945. The memorial stands on a raised square stepped base surrounded by floral beds used for seasonal planting, which are enclosed by a low stone wall with small dome-capped corner pillars. Another similar low stone wall surrounds the memorial and the public footpath around it, and includes four access points the west of which has a set of three steps.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 8 December 2016.