Plaque | War dead | WW1, WW2

Cyprus Street war memorial

Erection date: 5/6/1920

Inscription

{Pentagonal plaque:}
R.I.P
In loving memory of the men of Cyprus Street who made the great sacrifice 1914 - 1918
{Followed by 26 names. See Subjects commemorated:}
Erected by the Duke of Wellington's Discharged and Demobilised Soldiers and Sailors Benevolent Club.

{Shield-shaped plaque:}
1939 - 1945
{Followed by 5 names. See Subjects commemorated:}
They are marching with their comrades somewhere on the road ahead.

{Grey rectangular plaque:}
They shall grow not old. As we that are left grow old: 
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them.

When you go home tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.
Kohima Burma 1944 

"They shall grow not old..." is by Binyon. "When you go home..." is by Maxwell. But we cannot identify the "...marching with their comrades..." quote.

The BBC page on the memorial is informative, as is A London Inheritance. This memorial is unusual in that all the honoured men lived in the same street, (possibly the highest loss in any single street in London). It was originally located further to the west, between number 45 and 47, but In the 1960s that section of the road was redeveloped and the memorial was broken into three pieces which were placed in the Wellington pub where they were found many years later. In about 2013 the tenants association funded a replica which is now respectfully maintained by local residents.

We know of one other single-street memorial, in College Lane; much less grand, but just as touching.

Site: Cyprus Street war memorial (1 memorial)

E2, Cyprus Street, 76 - 78

This lovely street was developed in 1850-1 as Wellington Street, renamed as Cyprus Street in 1879. The buildings are Listed Grade II and we understand most of the street is owned by a housing association who are doing an excellent job keeping it looking uniformly good.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Cyprus Street war memorial

Subjects commemorated i

Battle of Kohima

The battle was the turning point of the Japanese U Go offensive against Briti...

Read More

World War 1

We'd always assumed that this war was known as the Great War until WW2 came a...

Read More

World War 2

Sorry, we've done no research on WW2, it's just too big a subject. But do vis...

Read More

J. Amos

Serviceman killed in WW1

Read More

A. Boardman

Serviceman killed in WW1

Read More

Show all 34

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Cyprus Street war memorial

Created by i

Duke of Wellington's Discharged and Demobilised Soldiers and Sailors Benevolent Club

Group who frequented the Duke of Wellington public house in Cyprus Street, an...

Read More

Laurence Binyon

Poet.  Born Lancaster.  Worked at the British Museum and become expert in Chi...

Read More

John Maxwell Edmonds

Poet and classical scholar.  Born Gloucestershire.  Died Cambridge.  In 1918-...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Greenwich Foot Tunnel - north

Greenwich Foot Tunnel - north

E14, Saunders Ness Road, Island Gardens

There is an identical plaque at the entrance to the tunnel on the south bank of the Thames.

12 subjects commemorated
River Effra - Canterbury Square 3

River Effra - Canterbury Square 3

SW9, Brixton Road, Canterbury Square

Photographed and numbered from north to south. A nearby information board: On your right is the old Roman road to the south coast (now t...

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators
Chelsea Embankment memorial - restored

Chelsea Embankment memorial - restored

SW3, Chelsea Embankment, Albert Bridge Gardens

An unusually decorative and high quality plaque for such a mundane event. We don't know whether it refers to a restoration of just the me...

1 creator
The Red Lion

The Red Lion

W1, Great Windmill Street, The Red Lion public house

The plaque fails to give the year of the Second Congress - it was 1847.

4 subjects commemorated
London Wall Walk - 7 - Bevis Marks

London Wall Walk - 7 - Bevis Marks

EC3, Bevis Marks

No visible bit of the Wall that we could see. On our London Wall page is a link to a site that has photos of more of these nice blue-bord...

1 subject commemorated