H M Prison Dartmoor: Obelisk in the French Prisoner of War Cemetery

H M Prison Dartmoor features a memorial in the shape of an obelisk, erected around 1866 to 1868, to honor the French prisoners of war who died at Dartmoor Prison during the Napoleonic Wars from 1809 to 1816. The memorial is made of Dartmoor granite and is set on a raised, horse-shoe shaped base. Historically, as seen in a photograph from around 1900, the obelisk was positioned on a granite stone rubble base that formed a rockery planted with ferns.

At the top of the obelisk is a bronze emblem of an eagle, beneath which is an inscription that reads: 'IN - MEMORY- OF THE - FRENCH - PRISONERS - OF WAR - WHO DIED - BETWEEN THE - YEARS - 1809 & 1814 - AND LIE - BURIED HERE - DULCE ET - DECORUM EST - PRO PATRIA - MORI'. Additionally, a small bronze plaque was added in 2009 to commemorate the bicentenary of the arrival of the first French prisoner of war at Dartmoor Prison. This plaque reads: '24 MAI - 1809-2009 - HOMMAGE - A VOUS - SOLDATS ET MARINS - DE L'EMPIRE - QUI AVEZ, CHANCUN - PAR VOTRE HISTOIRE - MARQUE LA - GRANDE HISTOIRE - DE NOTRE EUROPE'.