THE Royal Fusiliers war memorial in Holborn, central London, is a reminder of times when the British army was considerably larger than today.
 |
| Memorial … in High Holborn on the edge of the City of London |
Today's army has 49 infantry battalions, while the memorial to the Royal Fusiliers lists that single regiment's 46 battalions, which included battalions specialising in recruiting bankers, Jews and stockbrokers, as listed on a bronze plaque shown in the photo above.
Unusually for a memorial erected as late as 1922, it lists the Great War as running from 1914-19. This is almost certainly because two of the 46 listed battalions were raised, after WWI ended, for fighting Bolsheviks in north Russia in 1919.
 |
| Close-up … of the west side of the memorial |
Almost 22,000 Royal Fusiliers were killed in WW1, and the deaths of members of the regiment in WW2 and subsequent conflicts are commemorated by additional inscriptions.
 |
| Standing tall … the 8ft 6in statue is made of bronze, standing on a 16ft 6in pedestal of Portland stone |
No comments:
Post a Comment