Boer War Memorial – Duncombe Place, York

When most people visit the English city of York, a visit to this place is invariably first on the agenda:

For those with an interest in the Boer War, or who don’t enjoy being trampled underfoot by Chinese tour groups, however, I heartily recommend escaping the crowds, and popping across the road to the nearby monument instead:

Unfortunately, and though it’s one of the more impressive Boer War monuments I have seen, it is not too easy to get a decent photo of due to the trees which have grown to tower above and overshadow it. The proximity of the memorial to York Minster should be obvious in the photo, with the Cathedral visible in the left of the shot, just across the road.

Designed by the tireless George Frederick Bodley and constructed by the masons Robert Bridgeman & Sons, it is an imposing eight-sided Gothic-style affair, 40ft tall[i] and made of Ketton stone with blue-green Cumberland slate for the inscription panels.

The memorial was unveiled in August 1905 by Lord Roberts himself, as depicted below:

It is dedicated to the memory of all the Yorkshiremen – ie. not just those serving in Yorkshire regiments – who died in South Africa in the 1899-1902 War. And as much as it upsets True Believers to ever admit that such things happened, the majority of these died from disease.

In case the text in the photograph below is unclear to anyone, it reads:

‘Remember those loyal and gallant soldiers and sailors of this County of Yorkshire who fell fighting for their country’s honour in South Africa 1899 – 1902, and whose names are inscribed on this cross erected by their fellow Yorkshiremen AD 1905’

There are 1459 names listed on panels of the sides of the memorial, all sorted by regiment / corps and rank. It is interesting to note that, in addition to the famous units of the County, Yorkshiremen were killed serving in all manner of other British army regiments (including 10 in the Gordon Highlanders as shown below), and far-flung colonial units such as Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry, the Protectorate Regiment, and Prince Alfred’s Own Cape Field Artillery.

There are – or, rather, were – eight figures around the top of the monument, each depicting a different branch of service: Royal Navy, cavalry, artillery, infantry, Imperial Yeomanry, militia, colonial volunteer, and nurse.

One of these, the cavalry trooper, is no longer at his post, having been removed after the memorial was struck by lightning in 1961:

The initial figure depicting the Royal Navy was rejected as the sailor was shown carrying a rifle, which – while it would have been appropriate for a naval landing party – was felt not to match with the public perception of the navy[ii]. It was instead replaced with representation of a fellow with a suitably nautical length of rope and chain:

The original RN statue was instead moved to the Carnegie Library, Lichfield, Staffordshire[iii], and – complete with broken Lee Enfield – can be seen below:

In terms of the other figures on the Memorial, we have infantry:

Gunner:

Nurse:

Militia (who, perhaps appropriately, just looks like a less-capable version of infantry):

It is – to me at least – unclear quite which is which when it comes to the last two: answers on a postcard. One represents the men of the Imperial Yeomanry, while the other depicts those who served in the Colonial Volunteer units (such as the Imperial Light Horse):

And here are a couple more pictures, showing some of the statues next to one another:

Though now largely hidden by trees that have had another 120 years of growth, the prominent position of the monument, immediately opposite York Minster, is clear from this old postcard:

Alas, it is unclear how much longer this monument will be safe from the baying mob, so – if possible – I would recommend having a look at it before it gets pulled down by today’s self-loathing Social Justice Warriors. It goes without saying that taking a moment to remember the ultimate sacrifice paid by these 1459 gallant sons of Yorkshire for their country’s honour is of no interest to the modern ‘woke’ warriors.

NOTES:

[i] Some sources say 37ft – I did not have my tape measure handy

[ii] Other sources claim it was rejected as being ‘too aggressive’ which may seem illogical given that other figures are armed, though his pose is certainly less contemplative than the others

[iii] The Yorkshire County Memorial: A history of the Yorkshire County Memorial York, for the Second Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902, York Historian (Yorkshire Architectural and York Archaeological Society) vol 12 1995 – excellent stuff from that indefatigable fount of knowledge, Meurig Jones

Some of the photos above are mine, others were sourced from https://victorianweb.org/art/architecture/bodley/17.html and https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/23408558.unveiling-yorks-memorial-south-african-war-1905/#gallery0 and https://angloboerwar.com