Maiwand Lion

Maiwand Lion
Maiwand Lion
Artist George Blackall Simonds
Year 1886 (1886)
Type Sculpture

51°27′25″N 0°58′03″W / 51.456952°N 0.967481°W / 51.456952; -0.967481Coordinates: 51°27′25″N 0°58′03″W / 51.456952°N 0.967481°W / 51.456952; -0.967481

The Maiwand Lion is a sculpture and war memorial in the Forbury Gardens, a public park in the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. The statue was named after the Battle of Maiwand and was erected in 1886 to commemorate the deaths of 329 men from the 66th Berkshire Regiment during the campaign in Afghanistan between 1878 and 1880. It is sometimes known locally as the Forbury Lion.

The inscription on the plinth

The inscription on the plinth reads as follows:

This monument records the names and commemorates the valour and devotion of XI (11) officers and CCCXVIII (318) non-commissioned officers and men of the LXVI (66th) Berkshire Regiment who gave their lives for their country at Girishk Maiwand and Kandahar and during the Afghan Campaign MDCCCLXXIX (1879) - MDCCCLXXX (1880).
"History does not afford any grander or finer instance of gallantry and devotion to Queen and country than that displayed by the LXVI Regiment at the Battle of Maiwand on the XXVII (27th) July MDCCCLXXX (1880)."
Despatch of General Primrose.

Close-up of the lion

The regiment lost approximately 258 men out of 500 (reports of the number vary) at the battle of Maiwand, having faced an Afghan army ten times larger than the British contingent. Eleven of the men, protecting the colours, made such a brave stand before their deaths that the Afghans who fought them reported it with great respect. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his character Doctor Watson on the regiment's Medical officer, Surgeon Major A F Preston who was injured in battle.[1][2]

The sculptor was George Blackall Simonds, a member of a Reading brewing family from Simonds' Brewery. The sculpture took two years to design and complete, and the lion is one of the world's largest cast iron statues. Rumours persist that Simonds committed suicide on learning that the lion's gait was incorrectly that of a domestic cat. In fact, he made careful observations on lions and the stance was anatomically correct despite various African ex-pats disagreeing. He also lived for another 43 years, enjoying continuing success as a sculptor going on to create a statue of Queen Victoria (1887) and a statue of George Palmer (1891). He retired from sculpting in 1903 and worked in the family business eventually becoming its chairman in 1910. In 1922 he temporarily came out of retirement to build the Bradfield war memorial which commemorated the deaths in the First World War of those in the 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers which included his son.[3]

The Maiwand Lion features on the front page of one of the local newspapers, the Reading Post, and also on the Reading Football Club crest.

The statue is made of cast iron, weighing 16 tons, cast by H. Young & Co. of Pimlico in 1886. It is supported on a terracotta pedestal. The rectangular pilastered plinth carries tablets recording the names of the dead, together with inscription above. The whole is listed grade II by English Heritage.[4]

The Loddon Brewery, located in Dunsden Green close to Reading, brew an IPA called Forbury Lion.[5]

References

Bibliography

  • Stacpoole-Ryding, Richard J., Maiwand: The Last Stand of the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment in Afghanistan, 1880; The History Press; Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2008.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Battle of Maiwand — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Maiwand partof=Second Anglo Afghan War caption=Royal Horse Artillery fleeing from Afghan attack at the Battle of Maiwand date=July 27, 1880 place=Maiwand, Afghanistan result=Afghan victory… …   Wikipedia

  • Forbury Gardens — is a public park in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. The park is on the site of the outer court of Reading Abbey, which was in front of the Abbey Church. Fairs were held on the site three times a year until the early 1800s …   Wikipedia

  • Reading, Berkshire — Reading   Town Borough   …   Wikipedia

  • George Blackall Simonds — Infobox Artist bgcolour = #EEDD82 name = George Blackall Simonds imagesize = caption = George Blackall Simonds birthname = George Simonds birthdate = birth date|1843|10|6|df=y location = Reading, Berkshire, England deathdate = death date and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of statues — This is a list of the most famous statues worldwide, past and present. Australia *Dog on the Tuckerbox, five miles (8 km) from Gundagai Belgium *Manneken Pis in Brussels *Jeanneke Pis in Brussels, the female equivalent of Manneken Pis *Butte du… …   Wikipedia

  • Kingsley Royal — Kingsley, a seven foot tall bipedal lion, is the official mascot of Reading Football Club. He was first seen during the 1997 98 season. Up until the end of the 2005 06 season he was played by Noel Selby Armstrong, who has since been appointed… …   Wikipedia

  • List of memorials — This is a list of noted memorials:: See also: for more articles * 9/11 Memorial Project Los Angeles* Civil Rights Memorial * Fallen Astronaut, located on the surface of the moon, is a memorial to all the astronauts and cosmonauts who perished in… …   Wikipedia

  • Reading F.C. — Infobox Football club clubname = Reading current = fullname = Reading Football Club nickname = The Royals shortname = founded = 1871 ground = Madejski Stadium Reading capacity = 24,224 chairman = flagicon|England John Madejski mgrtitle = Manager… …   Wikipedia

  • Reading School — Motto Floreat Redingensis Established 1125 (refounded in 1486) Type Academy School Rel …   Wikipedia

  • Reading Minster — The church tower, chequered with flint and stone …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”