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The
Memorial
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"THE
MEANING OF THE TOWN MEMORIAL" PART ONE
by Marilyn Stephenson-Knight
When I was growing up in
Dover and was taken shopping by my mother we often used to walk
past the War Memorial outside Maison Dieu House. I learnt very
quickly that this was a place where I had to be quiet and
respectful - and under no circumstances was I permitted past the
iron railings into the Garden of Remembrance. This was puzzling
to me, because I could not understand the significance of the
Memorial - death and war were unknown concepts to a small child.
When I was bigger and
allowed out on my own I returned to the Memorial. I thought that
if only I could go close and read all the words upon it - and
maybe even touch it - there was some magical secret, some deep
meaning, that would be revealed to me. But I read the words and
ran my finger over them and they meant nothing more than a list
of names, just like the register called at school every morning.
By then I had learnt a little of war and of loss, and had seen
other memorials, gloriously sculpted with soaring columns of
steadfast soldiers and triumphant angels. Those I did
understand. But our Memorial was ... boring.
Or so I thought. For fate
has a wry humour, and so decreed that one day, sponsored first
by the
Town Council, I would become founder of the Dover
War Memoria l Project. Now not only do I understand in great and
sorrowing depth the meaning of all those names on our Memorial,
but I have understood too the significance of the Memorial
itself. It has become a passion in my life. The Memorial isn't
boring at all - it's beautiful, and this is the beginning of its
story.
"Over by Christmas" was the
popular belief - that our troops, after a few months of fighting
and adventure, would be home in time to celebrate Yuletide 1914
with their families. But by then there were already many who
would never return, and losses like that of the three cruisers
(see for example
"When My Ancestor Died") had damaged British confidence. By the first week in January 1915 the Dover Express had considered
a Memorial for those lost in what was to be known as the Great
War, and encouraged the recording of casualties for fear that
otherwise some should lack commemoration.
But such were the
calamitous costs of the war it wasn't until 1922, after nearly
three years of deliberation and after rejection of a number of
suggestions, including a shrine in Maison Dieu Hall to hold a
Book of Remembrance, that the Memorial Committee could recommend
the site outside Maison Dieu House for the erection of a more
substantial monument. The design and situation were not the only
considerations, for the Memorial also had to be funded. There
was less than three hundred pounds in the kitty (today this
would equal some £10,750), and this was around a fifth of the
sum needed. A number of events were held to raise money,
including a band performance in Pencester Gardens and a Military
Tattoo, but two years later Councillor Norman was fearful that
the Memorial would be "unveiled in debt" while the Mayoress
commented sadly that it was difficult to persuade "ladies to
sell the flags". Three weeks before unveiling the fund was still
short by £150 (around £5,500).
There were other problems
too. As the Express had feared there was no definitive record of
casualties, necessitating the issue of cards so that names could
be suggested for commemoration. But not everyone was seen as
eligible and there was the occasional lively debate when those
who lost their lives in air raids were excluded, and one
suggested casualty was discovered to have died in 1921. The
discussions were defused by asking a subcommittee to specify the
exact conditions for inclusion, whereupon the designer and
sculptor, Mr Goulden, rather plaintively requested a closing
date for the names so he could order materials in time.
Meanwhile the Town Clerk observed, perhaps somewhat snappily,
that the list had been on display for some time.
However, the design of the
Memorial ran more smoothly. Mr Goulden, fortuitously a Dovorian,
and thus, according to Councillor Livings, enhancing the
reputation and public acceptability of the Memorial, had created
a model for display. Perhaps the Councillor was right, for at
the subsequent public meeting to approve the Memorial only a
handful of people attended besides the Committee. Unperturbed,
the Mayor buoyantly interpreted this as denoting acquiescence.
Proposing the design be approved, Councillor Livings agreed,
putting forward the rather less charitable but probably more
canny view that if anyone had objected the room would have been
full.
But indeed considerable
thought had preceded the design, and perhaps it reflects the
character of the sculptor. Himself a veteran of the Great War,
Richard Goulden was said to be modest and subtle, poetically
empathetic, and yet with a strong sense of duty towards others.
He was thus able artistically to express the wishes of the
Committee to show gratitude to those fallen and sympathy to
those bereaved. "Masses of metal and masonry" were
inconsiderately extravagant in the face of such loss, the
Committee stated, and also "rather pagan". Furthermore such
constructions were likely to glorify victory and familiarise
young people with warlike images they might unfortunately seek
to emulate and even enhance. Instead the Committee felt that
freedom was sufficient reward for battle, and that a "simple
symbolic monument" placed "in the midst of the busy throng of
everyday life" would emphasise and encourage both spirituality
and self-sacrifice. Rather more pragmatically it also wouldn't
obscure the "interesting old Elizabethan building" of Maison
Dieu House.
 Practical, simple, and
symbolic are the key words for our Memorial. Rather than the
normal Portland stone of many memorials the base is made from
twenty blocks of Cornish granite, an unusually hard and
long-lasting rock. Finished by hand with a rustic punch, the
blocks are typical of Mr Goulden's work for they remain subtly
rough, reverencing the character of the stone. The Roll of
Honour is of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, an advance in
technology discovered millennia before and again renowned for
durability. The Roll is carefully formed to fit around the base,
with the names in blocked relief to render them easily readable.
Other bronze furnishings created by a traditional method of
pressing a carved wooden template into silver sand to form a
mould for the molten metal are the two laurel wreaths for glory
on either side of the main die, and, on the front, the Arms of
the Borough. These are placed above the inscription "To the
Glorious Memory of the Men of Dover who gave their lives for
their Country in the Great War - 1914-1918". The whole is
surmounted by a bronze figure. Cast in several pieces probably
by the ancient "lost wax" method, it was welded together,
burnished, and fastened to the granite base by a brass dowel
locking into the statue. According with the desire of the
Council to educate young people, the figure represents Youth in
self-sacrificial devotion, spiritually triumphing over bodily
suffering and the thorny difficulties of life.
By the end of October 1924
the Memorial, in a green lawn kerbed by granite, was complete
and ready to be unveiled. Already embedded in the construction
were a number of meanings. In a space set aside for quiet and
reflection the Memorial was yet central to the everyday town as
the small Garden of Remembrance adjoined the busy Biggin Street.
The materials of the Memorial itself evoked Eternity, the crafts
of construction evoked Continuity, and the figure, both in
situation and pose, evoked Transcendence. The inscription
encapsulated all these concepts, and firmly wedded to them by
plaques bearing their names were those we had lost - Gone
Before, Remembered Evermore. Beneath its materiality and
symbolism, all the deeds and discussions, all the debates and
decisions, that shaped and formed the Memorial lie hidden and
nearly forgotten.
But not quite. I'm grown up
now and it's almost as though a long finger from the bygone
Committee has reached out and tapped me on the shoulder, to say
"See? We told you so!" For now I understand far better what
those who designed our Memorial tried to say, and how and why
they tried to say it. Reme mbering the past and honouring the
present they also had a clear vision for the future. And even
then, with the erection of the Memorial, their work was not
finished. For our Memorial does not stand alone. It carries many
more meanings yet, and in the next part of this series I'll
explore another layer.
But in the meantime do have
a closer look at our Memorial, for it bears upon it the marks of
changing meaning over the years. One clear and sad scar is the
filled pinholes within the main inscription. The dates had to be
moved to the left to make room for the dates of World War II,
and an "S" was added to the word "War". Inclusive this time of
civilian casualties and of the role of women, the word "Men" in
the inscription was replaced by "People", while the names,
harkening back to an original suggestion by the first Committee,
were recorded in a Book of Remembrance to be placed in the Town
Hall. Later an extra panel bearing a few of the names of those
lost during World War II was added to back of the Memorial. It
lies beneath a larger panel listing more men who died in the
Great War, for, as had been feared, some were missed, and within
a month of the unveiling more names had been put forward for
commemoration.
There are more recent
changes revealing differing understandings also. So well was I
trained that even now, and even though I am working on the Dover
War Memorial Project and so helping to perpetuate the
significance of the Memorial, I still find it a little
irreverent actually to approach the Memorial. But not everyone
feels the same. One part of the design no longer used is the
flower vases. Made of bronze there were six, sunk into the
granite beneath the Roll of Honour. They were filled in after
some people began using them as ashtrays. The Memorial has also
suffered vandalism. The figure was repaired and it and the
plaques were cleaned. No longer coated in beeswax and blackening
they have been protected by lacquer, and now, phoenix-like, the
bronze gleams in the sunshine.
with thanks to:
Local Studies at the Dover Discovery Centre
The Dover Express
Ivor Spencer, of Cleverley and Spencer
This article first appeared in the Dover
Society Newsletter for August 2006
Footnotes:
 left, the bronze figure of the memorial, in a
local workshop, undergoing repair after an assault by vandals (with thanks to Ivor Spencer)
There was much debate over the design and location of the
Memorial. For example, Mrs Croockewit, mother of casualty
Alexander Croockewit, felt that the proposed location outside
Maison Dieu House was unsuitable owing to its enclosed nature.
She would have preferred the memorial situation "in a more open
and prominent position", such as the sea front, comparing the
cited location with the position of the Memorial at Folkestone
on the cliff edge, at the top of the Road of Remembrance.
Furthermore, a number of
designs and ideas were submitted to the Council, including a
shrine for a Book of Remembrance (which may have been either the
only commemoration or may have co-existed with a memorial),
and a Maternity Home, for which it was felt there would be much
support. Eventually both these ideas would find expression in
the
Book of Remembrance for the Second World War casualties, and
in the
Battle of Britain homes.
Despite the extensive
discussions, the erected Memorial still attracted criticism as
it was considered by some to be not "grand" enough. Although its
original design was invested with the meaning of simple
symbolism at the unveiling, one wonders how far the rather more
practical considerations of expense also determined the design.
Perhaps teleology too became part of the "official" meaning of
the Memorial.
previous "Meaning of
Memorial" article
next "Meaning of
Memorial" article
 Post
Script
On 22 December 1923 there was a special showing of the film "J'Accuse"
in the Queen's Hall, with proceeds intended for the War Memorial
Fund. J'Accuse is a war-time film in which the dead soldiers
rise and ask survivors whether their sacrifice was in vain. Some
of the scenes were filmed on actual battlefields.
Further Notes
The Memorial was updated in 2009 with a plaque of 22 further
names, and again in 2013. This will for the foreseeable future
be the last update; the Memorial at the same time was
rededicated "and in all other conflicts" to include Dovorian
Fallen who lost their lives in other service.
For Remembrance 2014 the white crosses in the Field of
Remembrance were replaced with a grant from Dover Town Council.
The new crosses were black. At the same time a local knitting
group decorated the area around the Memorial with knitted and
crocheted poppies.
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