Imperial Camel Corps Memorial

Last updated

Imperial Camel Corps Memorial
United Kingdom
Camel Corps Memorial, Victoria Embankment Gardens - front view.jpg
The sculpture in 2015
For Imperial Camel Corps
EstablishedJuly 22, 1921 (1921-07-22)
Location 51°30′31″N0°07′18″W / 51.508499°N 0.121671°W / 51.508499; -0.121671

near 
Designed byMajor Cecil Brown
Burials by nation
191 from Australia, 106 from the UK, 41 from New Zealand, and 9 from India
To the Glorious and Immortal // Memory of the Officers, N.C.O.s and Men // of the Imperial Camel Corps – British, // Australian, New Zealand, Indian – who fell in action or died of wounds // and disease in Egypt, Sinai, and Palestine, 1916, 1917, 1918

The Imperial Camel Corps Memorial is an outdoor sculpture commemorating the Imperial Camel Corps, located in Victoria Embankment Gardens, on the Thames Embankment to the east of Charing Cross station, in London, England. The unit of mounted infantry was created in December 1916 from troops that had served in the Gallipoli campaign in the Dardanelles.

The memorial was sculpted by Major Cecil Brown, who served in the Corps, with bronze elements cast by A.B. Burton at his Thames Ditton Foundry. It comprises (considerably smaller than life-size) a bronze statue of a man riding a camel, on a Portland stone pedestal with bronze panels on its four sides. Two bronze plaques list the names of all 346 men who died while serving with the Corps in Egypt, Sinai and Palestine between 1916 and 1918: 191 from Australia on the east plaque, and 106 from the UK, 41 from New Zealand, and 9 from India on the west plaque. [1] The bronze plaque to the south depicts two soldiers running, and that to the north depicts two officers next to a camel. Below the bronze plaque, the north face of the stone plinth bears a dedication:

To the Glorious and Immortal // Memory of the Officers, N.C.O.s and Men // of the Imperial Camel Corps – British, // Australian, New Zealand, Indian – who fell in action or died of wounds // and disease in Egypt, Sinai, and Palestine, 1916, 1917, 1918. [2]

The south face is inscribed with a list of the engagements of the Corps:

Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Chetwode, who was the first commander of the Desert Mounted Corps, unveiled the memorial on 22 July 1921. The Bishop of London, Arthur Winnington-Ingram, delivered the dedication.

The memorial received a Grade II listing in 1958. [4] Westminster City Council restored the memorial in 1999. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Chauvel</span> Australian army officer (1865–1945)

General Sir Henry George Chauvel, was a senior officer of the Australian Imperial Force who fought at Gallipoli and during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War. He was the first Australian to attain the rank of lieutenant general and later general, and the first to lead a corps. As commander of the Desert Mounted Corps, he was responsible for one of the most decisive victories and fastest pursuits in military history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinai and Palestine campaign</span> Campaign of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I

The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revolt in opposition to the Ottoman Empire, the German Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It started with an Ottoman attempt at raiding the Suez Canal in 1915 and ended with the Armistice of Mudros in 1918, leading to the cession of Ottoman Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mounted Memorial, Canberra</span>

The Mounted Memorial, Canberra is on Anzac Parade, the principal ceremonial and memorial avenue in Canberra, the national capital city of Australia. It is a copy of a memorial that was originally constructed in Port Said in 1932 but removed in 1956; a second copy was erected at Mount Clarence, Western Australia. The memorial was sculpted by Melbourne born sculptor, Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal (1863-1918) - it was his last piece before his death.

The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Camel Corps</span> British Imperial camel-mounted infantry brigade of WWI

The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (ICCB) was a camel-mounted infantry brigade that the British Empire raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East.

Mount Clarence is an inner suburb of Albany, Western Australia, between the Albany city centre and Middleton Beach. Its local government area is the City of Albany, and over three-quarters of its land area is either parkland or forest, including Albany's Heritage Park. Mount Clarence was gazetted as a suburb in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Embankment Gardens</span> Park in London, England

The Victoria Embankment Gardens are a series of gardens on the north side of the River Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and Westminster Bridge in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian Camel Transport Corps</span> Military unit

The Egyptian Camel Transport Corps were a group of Egyptian camel drivers who supported the British Army in Egypt during the First World War's Sinai and Palestine Campaign. The work done by the 170,000 men of the Corps helped British war operations in the Sinai desert and in Palestine and Syria by transporting supplies to the troops in extreme geographic and weather conditions.

The Egyptian Labour Corps was a group of Egyptian labourers who worked for the British Army in Egypt during the First World War's Sinai and Palestine Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Frontier Force</span> Military unit

The Western Frontier Force was raised from British Empire troops during the Senussi Campaign from November 1915 to February 1917, under the command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). Orders for the formation of the force were issued on 20 November 1915, under Major-General Alexander Wallace, C.B. The force concentrated at Mersa Matruh on the coast and began operations against the Senussi in late 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)</span> Military unit during the World Wars

The 9th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted rifles regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in October 1914, and assigned to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. The regiment fought against the forces of the Ottoman Empire, in Egypt, at Gallipoli, on the Sinai Peninsula, and in Palestine and Jordan. After the armistice the regiment eventually returned to Australia in March 1919. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded fifteen battle honours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)</span> Military unit

The 11th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in August 1914, and assigned to the 4th Light Horse Brigade. The regiment fought against the forces of the Ottoman Empire, in Egypt, at Gallipoli, on the Sinai Peninsula, and in Palestine and Jordan. After the armistice the regiment eventually returned to Australia in March 1919. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded fourteen battle honours. During the inter-war years, the regiment was re-raised as a part-time unit based in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. It was later converted to a motor regiment during the Second World War but was disbanded in 1943 without having been deployed overseas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert Column</span> Military unit

The Desert Column was a First World War British Empire army corps which operated in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign from 22 December 1916. The Column was commanded by Lieutenant General Philip W. Chetwode and formed part of Eastern Force. When Chetwode took command of Eastern Force after the Second Battle of Gaza, Harry Chauvel took command and oversaw the expansion of the column to three divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on the Beersheba to Hafir el Auja railway</span>

The Raid on the Beersheba to Hafir el Auja railway took place on 23 May 1917 after the Second Battle of Gaza and before the Battle of Beersheba during the Stalemate in Southern Palestine in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I.

The acronym ANZAC came from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, formed in Egypt prior to the Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War. The corps was the higher formation for all Australian and New Zealand soldiers. It then gave its name to ANZAC Cove, on the Gallipoli peninsula, and at first was only used to identify the men who took part in the Gallipoli landings, although it later came to mean "any Australian or New Zealand soldier of the First World War." Both the 'ANZAC' and the 'Anzac' versions of the acronym have been protected by the Commonwealth Government of Australia.

The Ayrshire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Ayrshire in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign with the ANZAC Mounted Division from 1916 to 1918. It was disembodied after the end of the war and was not reconstituted in the post-war Territorial Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Bir el Hassana</span>

The Raid on Bir el Hassana (Hasna) occurred in the Sinai Peninsula in February 1917, during World War I. It was a minor action between an augmented battalion of the Imperial Camel Corps on the one side and a score of Turkish troops plus some armed Bedouin on the other. The raid occasioned the first aeromedical evacuation in the British Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Ditton Foundry</span>

The Thames Ditton Foundry was a foundry in Thames Ditton, Surrey, which operated from 1874 to 1939 and which under various owners produced numerous major statues and monuments as one of the United Kingdom's leading firms of bronze founders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of General Gordon</span>

A bronze statue of General Charles George Gordon by Hamo Thornycroft stands on a stone plinth in the Victoria Embankment Gardens in London. It has been Grade II listed since 1970. A similar statue stands at Gordon Reserve, near Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia, on its original tall plinth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Machine Gun Corps</span> Military unit

The New Zealand Machine Gun Corps was an administrative corps of the New Zealand Military Forces during the First World War. It was formed in early 1916, following the Gallipoli campaign in response to a need for more effective machine gun support. The corps initially comprised independent machine gun companies and a mounted machine gun squadron, although in 1918 the machine gun companies were brought together into a machine gun battalion. The New Zealand Machine Gun Corps was disbanded at the end of the war.

References

  1. "Imperial Camel Corps memorial in London". New Zealand History. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  2. "End". New Zealand History. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  3. "Statue: Imperial Camel Corps". London Remembers. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  4. Historic England. "Imperial Camel Corps Memorial (1238057)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  5. War Memorials Archive, Imperial War Museum