Talk:Royal Artillery Memorial

Turning point?

In Realist style section

"Prior to the First World War, military memorials usually celebrated the achievement of military leaders (for example, Nelson's Column or the Duke of York Column). The losses of the 1914-18 war marked a turning point in memorial design, as the sacrifice of ordinary individuals began to be commemorated"

There are many regimental memorials in London and elsewhere in the UK which commemorate ordinary individuals from Victorian Wars. Community war memorials proliferated after the 1914-1918 but the practice of regimental memorials listing rank and file being erected had been long established before 1914. A regimental memorial to the men of the 24th Foot lost at Chillianwallah in 1842 was erected at Chelsea in 1853 for example and garrison towns across the country have statues or plaques in churches commemorating the men lost in nineteenth century colonial campaigns.

There was not even a turning point in design of war memorials after the First World war because the tens of thousands of new memorials almost entirely followed the same designs used for community and regimental Anglo-Boer War memorials erected 15-20 years before and they had followed designs used for memorials for many years before that; crosses, obelisks, marble tablets etc. (Brownag (talk) 22:00, 14 September 2010 (UTC))

Expansion...

One of my favourite pieces of art in London. I've gone through and given the article a bit of an expansion and thorough scrub. Everything should have references now. I haven't got a copy of Ann Compton's The Sculpture of Charles Sargeant Jagger, unfortunately, which was referenced - but without a page number - in the original version of the article. If anyone out there could find the page reference to complete that citation, I'd be very appreciative! Hchc2009 (talk) 17:32, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Sentence with possible comprehension issue (or is it just me?)

Hello. Can I please just express a minor concern about one sentence which I think needs a tweak?

The second paragraph of the History section starts with this: The Royal Artillery War Commemoration Fund (RAWCF) was formed in 1918, made up a mixture of senior officers and other ranks. Now, I think I understand what is meant here - it was a mixture of senior officers, and people who held all other ranks, which would naturally include less senior officers as well as non-commissioned officers and private soldiers. So it might perhaps have included everyone from generals to gunners, if the times were truly that democratic. Unfortunately this meaning is not how it reads: we say it contained senior officers, and we then say it also contained other ranks, to which we have helpfully linked in the article just as I have here. Fine, but the trouble is that to the wakeful ear this seems specifically to exclude junior commissioned officers: that is, there were, for example, no subalterns (lieutenants 2nd and 1st) or captains "on*" the fund (I'll come back to this). Why? Because "other ranks", as well as just meaning "ranks which are other than these ones we're mentioning", is a bit of a Term of Art or what have you, meaning Other ranks, that is, that linked thing again: Other ranks (UK) in the sense of people who do not have a commission. I could draw you a Venn diagram if you like but the bottom line is: it says that there were no junior officers involved ... which seems unlikely! ... and it needs a little sort out to make the sense clearer.

I hope that I have explained this clearly, and if not please do not shout at me too much; I can try again. I worked for 14 years for quite a difficult man who hated people bringing problems without solutions, so I must apologize that I am doing just that - it needs a reword but I can't see what that reword is, only that the current one is wrong. Tsk. Sorry and best wishes DBaK (talk) 20:24, 3 October 2017 (UTC)

HJ Mitchell; Notreallydavid; Another Believer; Hchc2009 - just pinging a few recent editors in the hope of something lovely happening. Cheers DBaK (talk) 20:05, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

(Quick reply busy). The source says "had representatives from the ranks on it" and from other sources we know there were senior officers on it, but I agree there's nothing to suggest that junior officers weren't. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:19, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Thanks very much. The tweaked version reads much better and will not frighten the horses, nor astonish/baffle anyone. DBaK (talk) 16:47, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

Pevsner

To the SW the Royal Artillery Monument by Charles Segeant Jagger and Lionel Pearson, 1921-5. A moving work, now recognised as a masterpiece of British C20 sculpture. Jagger had served with the regiment, and his work explores the limits of what public art could then show of the disasters of war. The culmination is a blunt-nosed 9.2in. howitzer, realistically portrayed in stone. Around its pedestal stand three bronze gunners, with at the N end a fourth lying dead under a greatcoat. The details, e.g. the nails in the dead gunner's boots, have the directness of documentary photographs. In contrast with this realism and stasis are four angular, flattened reliefs of desperate battle on the sides. Pearson designed the beautifully lettered pedestal and podium, on which no mouldings or architectural carvings appear. Steps at the S end were replaced in 1949 by a flat plinth with bronze tablets, by Darcy Braddell.

Simon Bradley, Nikolaus Pevsner | London 6: Westminster | The Buildings of England | 2003 | Yale University Press | New Haven, US and London | 978-0-300-09595-1 | pp=658-659

Categories

I'm sure some additional sculpture-related categories apply, such as Category:Bronze sculptures in the United Kingdom and Category:Statues in London, no? ---Another Believer _(Talk) 20:41, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

@HJ Mitchell: FYI, I hope this is helpful, and big thanks for expanding this article so nicely. @Ham II: Putting this on your radar as well, in case you can think of other applicable categories. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 20:42, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

@Another Believer: Sure, if you know of any relevant categories, by all means add them. :) HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 21:13, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

HJ Mitchell, I added a few and will try to think of others. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 21:19, 16 November 2020 (UTC)