Template:Did you know nominations/University of Reading War Memorial

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Flibirigit (talk) 03:42, 22 November 2018 (UTC)

University of Reading War Memorial edit

The University of Reading War Memorial
The University of Reading War Memorial
  • ... that Herbert Maryon's University of Reading War Memorial (pictured) was originally designed to be 120 feet (37 m) tall? Source: From the University of Reading: "Herbert Maryon, a member of staff in the Fine Arts department, prepared a design for a tower 120 feet tall. Requiring an estimated sum between £5,000 and £10,000, an appeal for funds was launched in 1919. Subsequently, it became clear that it would not be possible to raise the amount needed for so ambitious a project, and in 1923 Maryon produced a design for a more modest structure."
    • ALT1:... that decades after designing the University of Reading War Memorial (pictured), Herbert Maryon conserved the finds from "the most important single discovery in British archaeology"? Source: The Times, 1965: "He had, in effect, two careers, his main life's work in the field of industrial arts and sculpture ... and, after his retirement, his work at the British Museum ... He was invited by the trustees, at the instigation of the then Keeper of British and Medieval Antiquities, later Sir Thomas Kendrick, specifically to work on the highly important and extremely difficult task of restoration of the damaged objects from the Anglo-Saxon royal ship-burial, discovered in 1939 at Sutton Hoo, the most important single discovery in British archaeology."

Created by Usernameunique (talk). Self-nominated at 14:44, 16 October 2018 (UTC).

Solid article, on good sources, no copyvio obvious. The image is license and stunning, so I hope we'll see it on the Main page. - Questions regarding the article: The image caption says 200 men and women killed, but without a reference there, or (better) mentioning of numbers in the article, where I see 140 from Wolrd War I. - Can we say "Memorials to those who died in World War I began ..." better? They didn't "begin" out of nowhere ;) - Regarding the hooks: I prefer the original, understanding that it's tempting to mention Sutton Hoo once more. Can we express that he designed it (vs. sponsored / financed)? I like active voice ;) - Even more than a planned height which didn't materialise, I'd be interested in expansion of the dedication to later wars, and yes, perhaps the number of the victims. They should be the focus of a war memorial. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:31, 23 October 2018 (UTC)
Thanks for the review, Gerda Arendt. I've added the approximate number of named to the body of the article. One source says 71 from WWI and the other says 73, so I've just said "more than 70" (there's a similar WWI discrepancy—141 in one source, 144 in another—and taken together, that's why the caption says "approximately 200" rather than an exact number). Also changed "began" to "were erected."Here are some alternate hooks:
ALT2: ... that Herbert Maryon's design for the University of Reading War Memorial (pictured) originally called for a 120 feet (37 m) tall clock tower?
ALT3: ... that the University of Reading War Memorial (pictured), designed by Herbert Maryon after World War I, later expanded its purpose to also serve as a memorial to those who died in World War II and Afghanistan?
Due to the discrepancy in numbers—and also since I'm not certain that more names from the war in Afghanistan haven't been added—I'm a bit hesitant to go with a hook that focuses on numbers. --Usernameunique (talk) 15:52, 30 October 2018 (UTC)
@Usernameunique: @Gerda Arendt: is there any chance we can get a suitable hook from this entry approved before midnight tonight? The reason I ask is that tomorrow's DYK set currently has only one entry that is not WW1 related and would be nice to swap that out with this to complete the set. There might be a question about whether to run it without the pic, or even replace the red poppy pic (which isn't the subject of its own *purple* poppy hook). Not sure really. Let me know what you think. Thanks  — Amakuru (talk) 12:41, 10 November 2018 (UTC)
Actually, forget this. Change of plan. The main page is slightly lopsided to the left already tomorrow so I'll just remove the hook and not replace it. THanks  — Amakuru (talk) 12:48, 10 November 2018 (UTC)
(ec) I think that ALT3 is fine but a little wordy, so same thing (and please feel free to polish the idea, and use name for the war as agreed with rest of the set, - no time to check the discussion, sorry.
... that the University of Reading War Memorial (pictured) was designed by Herbert Maryon in memory of victims of World War I, but later served also as a memorial to those who died in World War II and Afghanistan?
I think this a gorgeous image, so would vote to have it as lead - or another day. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:57, 10 November 2018 (UTC)