{The coat of arms of the City of London}
{At the top of the columns, left and right:}
V R
The City of London Imperial Volunteers
Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori
{at the centre of the wreath:}
CIV
In memory of George Edward Halford, a private in this regiment and Lance Corporal in the Ist Mdsx. (Victoria & St. Georges) RV, son of Major Frederick Benjamin and Maria Amelia Halford, he died at Karree on the 15th May 1900 during the South African Campaign, aged 22 years.
{either side of the cartouche:}
This memorial is erected at the expense of the Regimental Fund, the Right Honourable Sir Alfred Newton Bart, Lord Mayor.
{On the bosses of the cartouche:}
1899 – 1900
{At the lower right edge:}
Wheeler
{and on the line below, further to the right }
fecit
This design was used repeatedly to commemorate the dead of the City of London Imperial Volunteers in the same campaign. The plaques are normally inside buildings (and so not collectable by London Remembers): Westminster Abbey cloisters; St. Mary Magdalene Church, Holloway Road; St Pancras New Church, etc. It's at the IWM that we get confirmation of the makers: Frederick Wheeler and Coalbrookdale Company.
“Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori” comes from Odes by Horace and can be translated as: “What joy, for fatherland to die!”
Referring to the inscription: "VR" stands for Victoria Regina. CIV stands for City Imperial Volunteers. 1899-1900 is the period of Newton's mayoralty. We know the sculptor was Frederick Wheeler and "Wheeler" appears at the lower right, but below that and to the right is another word which could be "Fred." or "fecit" (Latin for "I made this") which is often given with the sculptor's name. If it was Fred we'd expect it to be on the same line, so we are plumping for fecit.
Site: Lauderdale Road Synagogue - 3 plaques (3 memorials)
W9, Ashworth Road, Lauderdale Road Synagogue
The war memorial can be seen in our photo. All three plaques are clustered at the corner of the building closest to our camera. The Montefiore foundation stone is also visible, one side of it, in the close-up photograph of the war memorial. We thank Colin Burducea, S&P Community, for generously providing most of our close-up photographs and answering our queries.
