Obelisk

Hampstead War Memorial

Inscription

{On the flanking wall to the left of the pillar is a double plaque, on the top half of which is inscribed a laurel wreath while the lower half contains:}
1914 - 1918
1939 - 1945
In the long vista of the years to roll
Let me not see our country's honour fade:
O let me see our land retain her soul,
Her pride, her freedom: and not freedom's shade.
Keats
{On the flanking wall to the right of the obelisk is a double plaque, on the top half of which is inscribed
the Hampstead coat of arms (motto "non sibi sed toti" means “Not for oneself but for all”) while the lower half contains the text:}
This monument was here set up to call to memory the men and women of Hampstead who gave their lives for their country in two great wars.

{On the back of the obelisk's plinth is:}
To those of this borough who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914 - 1918.

{On the front of the obelisk's plinth is carved the coat of arms with:}
Borough of Hampstead

From the inscriptions it seems that the obelisk was created as a WW1 memorial and the flanking walls were added after WW2. We thank David Hopkins for the translation of the Latin motto.

Site: Hampstead War Memorial (1 memorial)

NW3, Spaniards Road

The imposing house you see behind the monument was the home of Quaker banker and slavery abolitionist Samuel Hoare (1751 - 1825) who moved here in 1790.  His descendants include: John Gurney Hoare and Sir Samuel Hoare.

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Hampstead War Memorial

Subjects commemorated i

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

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Hampstead War Memorial

Created by i

Borough of Hampstead

A Metropolitan borough of the County of London. It was amalgamated with the M...

Read More

John Keats

Born 24 Moorfields Pavement Row, Finsbury. This was the Swan and Hoop pub, wh...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Thomas Paine obelisk

Thomas Paine obelisk

EC1, Angel Square

Erected on the 200th anniversary of the publication of Paine's "Rights of Man", written while Paine lived at the Angel Inn which used to ...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Mitcham - drought relief obelisk

Mitcham - drought relief obelisk

CR4, Madeira Road, Cricket Green

The inscription is badly deteriorated, so we have copied the inscription from the Historic England website.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
WW1 obelisk - E8

WW1 obelisk - E8

E8, Haggerston Road, Stonebridge Common, Duke of Wellington pub

We found the inscription text at IWM. It's from a report of the unveiling in the Hackney and Kingsland Gazette 23 February 1921.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Steve Fairbairn

Steve Fairbairn

SW15, Putney Towpath Embankment

{Medallion on an obelisk, with a portrait:} Steve Fairbairn, 1862 1938. {Plaque beneath medallion:} This memorial commemorates the cen...

3 subjects commemorated, 4 creators
Princess Alice Disaster - memorial

Princess Alice Disaster - memorial

SE18, Near Camdale Road, Old Woolwich Cemetery

The numbers of passengers and victims differ from most other sources. Source of biblical quotations: Resurrection - John 11:17-44 New Ki...

1 subject commemorated