Bregenz Commemorative Plaque

BACK in Bregenz I spotted a plaque dedicated in 1988 on the 50th anniversary of the anschluss that saw Austria taken over by Nazi Germany and incorporated directly into the Third Reich.

The top part of the inscription, above names of some of those killed, roughly translates as: in memory of fellow citizens of Bregenz who lost their lives as victims of National Socialist tyranny from 1938-1945

Lindau War Memorial

I WAS not looking for war memorials in Lindau, but I did come across one, and it turned out to be for what is generally known in the English-speaking world as the Franco-Prussian War.*

The plaque roughly translates as: in honour of those from Lindau who did not return from the 1870-1871 war with France

*I do not claim most people have heard of the conflict, but that is what it is usually called by those who have (rather than the arguably more accurate Franco-German War).

Bregenz War Memorials

The inscription across the top reads: in memory of the fallen of the upper town, and lists those "fallen" and those "missing" in 1914-1918 and 1939-1945

This plaque in the lower town roughly translates as: in honoured remembrance of our fallen comrades of the two world wars 1914-18 and 1939-45 Bregenz Volunteer Fire Department

Villa War Memorial

BETWEEN the former village of Solcio and the centre of Lesa is Villa, which, even more so than Solcio, is now very much part of the commune of Lesa.

It has a war memorial depicting Prometheus Breaking The Chains, a reference to the Greek myth of the Titan who stole fire from the Olympian gods and gave it to mankind.

A striking sculpture by the Milan-born Achille Alberti

It was erected in 1923 with the inscription: "To your generous sons who fell for their country 1915-1918," to which has been added "1940-1945."

Lesa War Memorial

THE war memorial in the centre of Lesa is also quite interesting, apparently functioning as a lighthouse, or at least a guiding beacon, for the town harbour.

The main plaque is headed: "Lesa - to its fallen in the Great War 1915-1918," with a second plaque underneath for "The War 1940-1945"

Solcio War Memorial

The main plaque is captioned: "To the fallen soldiers of the war 1915-1918"

Lower down a second, smaller plaque has been added for "the war 1940-1945."

North To Northumbria

AM visiting the Durham town of Darlington.

In the parish churchyard is a Boer War memorial, dedicated in 1905 by Earl Roberts, a winner of the Victoria Cross who later led the British army in South Africa, where his son died while winning a posthumous VC.

The gun's bayonet is missing - broken off sometime in the 1950s by children swinging on it

THIS MEMORIAL WAS ERECTED BY 5,576 SUBSCRIBERS AS A TRIBUTE

TO THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE MEN OF DARLINGTON WHO VOLUNTEERED

AND SERVED THE EMPIRE IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR, 1899 - 1902
There are 100 names on the memorial, of whom 11 died on service.
The church is dedicated to St Cuthbert, who was born in 634 in Dunbar, which was then part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, but is now part of Scotland.
He may have been a soldier before taking monastic orders, rising to become bishop of Lindisfarne in 684, dying three years later.
He seems to have led a particularly frugal existence, enjoying the life of a hermit or traveling preacher.

The church dates back to the early 1100s, but has been much-modified over the centuries, including by adding a spire in the 1300s

The sundial looks a modern addition

The chimney was a vent for Victorian boilers installed in church cellars

Remembering

NOT many places in Britain still have prominent war memorials commemorating the country's battles against the Boers of South Africa.

But I am currently visiting Hull, East Yorkshire, where such a memorial exists, and is more prominently sited than a nearby cenotaph marking the two world wars.

The South African memorial, with the cenotaph behind

The plaque bears the words: Erected by public subscription to the memory of the men of Hull who lost their lives during the South African War 1899, 1900, 1901 & 1902.

Unusual War Memorial

MANY WW1 memorials follow a standard pattern, but not the one I came across yesterday in Roman Road, East London.

This memorial is on the outside of St Barnabas's Church, which was originally a Baptist chapel, before becoming Church of England in 1870, which makes this year its 150th Anglican anniversary.
Despite the name of the church, the plaque depicts St George and a vanquished dragon, standing on a scroll engraved: TRIBUTE.
Underneath is: TO THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR FREEDOM 1914-1919.

Royal Fusiliers War Memorial

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

Exmouth War Memorial

THIS photo was taken last week during a visit to Exmouth, Devon.

Exmouth war memorial in a town centre park

It is is probably one of the earlier examples of a WW1 memorial as the conflict is dated 1914 - 1919.

Soviet War Memorial

AM visiting the Czech Republic, and specifically Olomouc, a city that used to be a major centre of the Greater Moravian Empire.

No prizes for guessing which country erected this memorial, nor to which war it refers

As I believe can be seen from the picture, the memorial to the Red Army is still well maintained.

Paddington Station War Memorial

THE war memorial at Paddington station in West London looks in such a good state of repair and maintenance that it would be easy to mistake it as a recent dedication.
This effect is enhanced by a plaque that states the memorial commemorates 3,312 employees of the Great Western Railway who "IN THE WORLD WARS … GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR KING AND COUNTRY"

The war memorial at Paddington station

But the memorial's statue, of a soldier reading a letter, presumably from home, shows a figure with a distinctly WW1 trenchy look.
That is because the memorial was unveiled on Armistice Day 1922, with a new plaque added much later.

Bridgend War Memorial

AM spending a week in Bridgend, which is a town in South Wales about halfway between Cardiff and Swansea.

Bridgend War Memorial was built to commemorate the Great War, which is dated as 1914 - 1918 (rather than 1919).
Made from portland stone (as, for example, is The Cenotaph in London's Whitehall), it features Britannia with her right hand resting on a sheathed sword.
The memorial has been updated with plaques commemorating the dead from later wars.

Newmarket War Memorial

A GRANITE war memorial in Newmarket, Suffolk, is an interesting example of one of the earlier memorials to WW1.

Newmarket war memorial

You can tell it was one of the earlier ones to be commissioned as the Great War is dated 1914-19, the five-year span representing the fact that Germany only sued for an armistice in November 1918 - peace treaties came later.
According to the Imperial War Museum, it was unveiled in October 1921, and there are 218 WW1 deaths recorded compared with 80, plus 10 civilians, later added for WW2.

Historical Reminders

WALKED from Bad Wiessee to Gmund yesterday afternoon, taking advantage of bright sunshine before the sky clouded over later in the afternoon.
Gmund has a chapel from 1634 with a mural on the outside depicting two angels along with the words: EHRE DEN OPFERN MAHNUNG DEN LEBENDEN, which roughly translates as: Honour the victims - Exhortation to the living.

The 1634 chapel - renovated from 1988-91

The window has an Iron Cross with the year 1914 on it, and below the cross an iconic stahlhelm helmet, which started replacing the pickelhaube in the German army in 1916.
Near to the chapel is a fountain, dated 1894, with a soldier equipped in a style I associate with the 16th century at the latest, and probably from quite some time before that.

The soldierly fountain

Close-up of the soldier

Abwinkl War Memorial

CONTINUING my visit to Bad Wiessee, which is beside the Tegernsee in Bavaria, I took advantage of a spell of good weather - it has been raining and cold much of the time - to head into the mountains.
My plan was just to walk along the town's panoramaweg, but then I decided to head up to Bauer in der Au at 904m.
However, it soon became clear from signposts that the restaurant or mountain hut supposed to be there was no longer open.
Since I had set off at about 1pm, without having lunch, I switched plans again and headed further up to Aueralm at 1270m.
I knew Aueralm consisted of a "mountain cabin" as I passed it last year when ascending the Fockenstein (1564m).
Fortunately the cabin was open (it turned out it closes on Mondays) and I enjoyed a lentil soup and large slice of blueberry cheesecake.
I had reached Aueralm via a different route from the one I took last year, so decided to descend by last year's route.
But I only had walking shoes without ankle support and no walking pole, and soon decided there was too much snow on the ground to make that route advisable.
Instead I came back down to the lake, and so to Bad Wiessee, via Abwinkl, which, depending on your temperament, could be called a large village or a small town.
This proved a good choice as Abwinkl has an interesting modern war memorial, liberally decorated with Iron Crosses.

Abwinkl - modern war memorial

There are many more names listed for WW2 than for WW1, including some who died in the early months of 1946.
It is not clear if these last deaths were military personnel who died of their wounds, or perhaps as Soviet prisoners. From the way precise dates are given, I would guess the former.

Monumental Fashion

YOU might think tributes to the dead would be one thing little affected by fashion, but the truth is very much the opposite.
This is starkly illustrated by two memorials within a few yards of each other in the Jersey capital of St Helier.
Imposing, one might say over-the-top, is a large edifice erected to commemorate Sir George Don, who was the island's lieutenant-governor during the Napoleonic Wars from 1806-14.
Sir George is credited with using his authority to build much of Jersey's network of roads. According to theislandwiki, the monument "consists of a group of three statues of cast iron on a platform of granite, approached by steps and flanked by old cannons. Don stands on the central plinth, with the figures of Commerce and Industry on either side of him."

Sir George towers above Commerce and Industry

Further along in Parade Gardens is a memorial to St Helier parishioners killed in WW1.
Made from steel, but looking like rusty iron, it lists the dead in alphabetical order without giving ranks, dates of birth or other details.
The memorial was due to be unveiled in time for the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day last year, but the ceremony was postponed to November 23 because of inclement weather.
A report that day on Jersey's Channel 103 stated: "Since it was opened, it's been revealed that more work needs to be done to correct a construction mistake.
"Constable Crowcroft explains the problem: 'It was simply an error by someone in the factory where it was made, so they've agreed to replace that particular part - which will be done in the coming months.
"'The other question that has arisen is that people have contacted us to say that the names of their ancestors who fell in the war are not on the memorial.
"'That's clearly something we're looking into. There inevitably will be one or two names missed off and the memorial is constructed in such a way that extra names can be added in due course if they meet the criteria that we used'."

Understated, and arguably 100 years and two weeks late

War Memorial - Bad Wörishofen

THE war memorial in the south Bavarian spa town of Bad Wörishofen seems to have been built in the mid-1950s.
It consists of a soldier in greatcoat and stahlhelm (steel helmet - nicknamed "coal scuttle" by Allied troops) lying down with his rifle by his side.

German soldier in stahlhelm

Above this figure is the list of fallen, the vast majority of which are, as is to be expected, from WW2, but with a lot from WW1.

The list of fallen

Above the names from the world wars, two other names have been added - one of someone killed in 1870 and the other of someone killed in 1871.
Considering that the memorial seems to have been unveiled in 1955, it may be that the two victims of the Franco-Prussian War were added at the request of people who, in the 1950s, were old enough to have lost a loved one in the conflict of 1870-71.