Memorial

Westminster School - WW1 (Lost)

Source: Copyright Elizabeth Wells

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Type of Memorial: Board / Plaque / Tablet
WMR Reference Number: 66139
Description: A carved screen of British oak, that was surmounted by stained-glass windows containing the Arms of Westminster School, and of Christ Church (Oxford) and Trinity College (Cambridge), the two colleges with which the school is particularly associated. The central section of the screen was carried higher than the rest in the form of a curved pediment, which features an oak carving of St. George slaying the dragon. Below the pediment is the dedication panel, bearing the school arms and flanked on either side by oak columns. The names of the alumni who were killed in the war were inscribed on four tall panels set into the screen, all in gilt lettering. Large tympanums were above the doorways and carved with trophies of modern military equipment, such as gas masks, field telephones, trench mortars, and Lewis guns.
Inscription: WESTMONASTERIENSIBUS/ QUI IN BELLO OMNIUM MAXIMO/ PERICULUM INAUDITUM/ A PATRIA POPULISQUE/ LIBERIS DEPELLENTES/ MORTALI IMMORTALEM/ MUTAVERUNT VITAM/ VICTORIA REPORTATA/ MONUMENTUM/ DEDICAVIMUS/ ILLORUM FORTITUDINI/ ACCEPTAM REFERENTES/ QUACUNQUE IPSI CETERIQUE/ FRUIMUR FELICITATE/ A.S. MCMXX

War: First World War (1914-1918)
Number Commemorated: 224
Died: 224
Information shown: Surname, initial
Order of names: Surname
Additional Information: The names of the dead are now listed on IWM 66155 and they are listed with biographies on the school website (see References)

Maker(s): Sir Robert Lorimer, Designer
Dr. Douglas Strachan LLD FRSA, Artist
Maintenance History: Destroyed when the School was bombed and burned out in 1941. Report at unveiling gives 220 names, but in 1927 226 are mentioned, so presumably some were added.

Unveiled

29 October 1921

FM HRH Prince Arthur Duke of Connaught KG

Dedicated

29 October 1921

Dean of Westminster

Screen

Made from: Wood - Oak

Condition: Lost

Window

Made from: Glass

Condition: Lost

'Westminster School War Memorial: Unveiling To-day', The Times, 29 October 1921, p. 10.
'Memorial to fallen Westminsters: Unveiling by the Duke of Connaught', The Times, 31 October 1921, p. 13.
Westminster School: Its Buildings and their Associations, Lawrence E Tanner (1923), pp. 40-41; 53.
British Public Schools War Memorials, C F Kernot (1927), pp. 220-221.
The Record of Old Westminsters, vol II., G F Russell-Barker & A H Stenning (1928), pp. 1128-1130.
Westminster School: A History, John D Carleton (1965), p. 126.
https://www.architecture.com/image-library/ribapix/image-information/poster/design-for-a-war-memorial-westminster-school-london-elevation-plan-and-details/posterid/RIBA21081.html There is an image available here of the architect's drawing for this memorial.
Westminster School, https://collections.westminster.org.uk/index.php/first-world-war-1914-1918/term/relatedAuthorities?page=4&sort=alphabetic&listPage=7&sortDir=asc&listLimit=10&onlyDirect=1, accessed 11th March, 2025