Sculpture

St Olav's Church - Seafarers' memorial

Inscription

{Base of memorial - English inscription:}
In memory of all our seafarers in world war II.

{Base of memorial - Norwegian inscription:}
Til minne om våre krigsseilere
1940 1945

To us this is a rather eerie-looking seafarer. A colleague informs us that the Norwegian inscription translates as 'In memory of our naval servicemen'.

Site: St Olav's Church - SE16 (9 memorials)

SE16, St Olav's Square, St Olav's Church

St Olav's Church was designed by John Love Seaton Dahl. Crown Prince Olav was present at the laying of the foundation stone, 1926, and then at the consecration, 1927. During WW2 this was the church used by King Haakon VII and the Norwegian government in exile. It is one of over 30 churches around the world run by the Norwegian Church Abroad, also known as The Norwegian Seamen’s Church.

Serendipitously the Google Streetview of September 2017 captured the Haakon bust covered with a veil, presumably just hours before the photo captured here.

The Ebenezer Church plaque is in the garden in front of the church in the centre of the northern wall.

The Fallen plaque is laid into the ground of the garden, at the foot of the WW1 memorial.

The three 'St Olav' plaques are attached low on the west front of the building.

At Surrey Docks we have an 1889 map which shows the road layouts before the Rotherhithe Tunnel roundabout arrived.

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:
St Olav's Church - Seafarers' memorial

Subjects commemorated i

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:
St Olav's Church - Seafarers' memorial

Created by i

Nico Widerberg

Sculptor. Born Oslo, the son of a distinguished painter. A memorial by Widerb...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
St Olav's Church - Seafarers' memorial

Also at this site i

Ebenezer Church - Prince Oscar

Ebenezer Church - Prince Oscar

This is the foundation stone from the Norwegian church that preceded St Olavs...

Read More

Haakon VII

Haakon VII

From Royal House of Norway: "The bust of King Haakon ... is a variation of th...

Read More

King Olav V of Norway

King Olav V of Norway

{Beneath a bas-relief of the king:} Olav V, Norges Konge, 80 år 1983. H.M. Ko...

Read More

St Olav's Church - 1926 - foundation stone

St Olav's Church - 1926 - foundation stone

Den Norske Siomannsmision, St Olavs Kirke Denne Kirkes grunnsten blev lagt av...

Read More

St Olav's Church - 1977

St Olav's Church - 1977

Kronprins Olav var tilstede ved kirkens innvielse, 26 Juni 1927 Kong Olav V B...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Wheeler's lion

Wheeler's lion

N22, Boating lake cafe, Alexandra Palace

A nearby information board informs: "A lion for London. Documents recently unearthed from the AP archives have revealed the origins of Le...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Tattersall's auction yard

Tattersall's auction yard

SW1, Knightsbridge Green, 1, Caltex House

This sculpture 'Triga' recalls the racehorses that were bought and sold on this site while it was occupied by Tattersalls for almost 75 y...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
South Bank Lion

South Bank Lion

SE1, Westminster Bridge

We've left the punctuation unchanged in our transcription of the plaque: missing apostrophe and full stop before 'and'. Often the layout ...

3 subjects commemorated, 3 creators
Soweto children

Soweto children

SW9, Max Roach Park

This sculpture was inspired by a widely-circulated and influential news photograph taken by Sam Nzima during the Soweto uprising – see th...

1 subject commemorated, 7 creators
Salters' cat - SE16 statue

Salters' cat - SE16 statue

SE16, Bermondsey Wall East, Cherry Gardens

The multi-part sculpture is called 'Dr Salter's Daydream' and shows the whole Salter family. The scene is poignant in that Joyce died at ...

2 creators

Previously viewed

Foundling Hospital

Foundling Hospital

England's first home for abandoned children. Established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram. From the Museum's Friends Update: "On the afternoon of Wednesday 25 March {1741}, the coat of arms designe...

Building, Children, Social Welfare

6 memorials
Caledonian Market

Caledonian Market

Caledonian Cattle Market, built in 1855 by J. B. Bunning, and demolished after WW2. Caledonian Market was held in the area now partly occupied by Caledonian Park, the large area bounded by what ar...

Place, Commerce, Food & Drink

1 memorial
Black History Walks

Black History Walks

Black History Walks offer guided Walking Tours London to include the African history of London.

Group, History, Race Issues, Tourism / Traditions

6 memorials
Young & Son

Young & Son

EC3, Lovat Lane

We wanted to show you both the plaque and the weather vane so we have used our two pictures for those and not photographed the building. ...

3 subjects commemorated