Monument | War dead | WW1, WW2

St Peters Church - WW1 and WW2

Erection date: 4/11/1927

Inscription

{The body of the memorial consists of marble plaques arranged in 3 columns. The top of the central one is decorated with oak leaves and acorns and a soldier's helmet and sword. It also holds the inscription:}

Non invano moriste,
O dolci figli,
Latin sangue gentile!
G. D'Annunzio

{Translates as:
Not in vain have you died,
O sweet sons,
Dear Latin blood!}

Ali suoi figli gloriosi soldati nell'esercito Italiano col sacrificio supreme consacrando nella Guerra mondiale la fede nella patria la grandezza della stirpe la colonia Italiana di Londra a eternal memoria. auspice l'associazione nazionale combattenti
4 Novembre 1927 - Anno VI

{Translates as:
The Italian community in London will forever remember their glorious soldier sons in the Italian army, who with their supreme sacrifice in the World War consecrated their faith in their native land and the greatness of their ancestry.

The Italian National Association of Combatants. 4 November 1927 - Year VI}

{Across the middle of all three columns are the dates 1915 - 1918 and a Christian cross in a laurel wreath between two fasces (Roman-style torches). The two outside plaques of this top section hold a list of 135 names of the dead from World War 1, alphabetical with 3 added on at the end out of sequence. The 3 plaques in the lower section were added later and hold a list of 40 names of the dead from World War 2.}

{For the list of names see Subjects Commemorated below.}

{On the metal screen in front:
The oak leaves, acorns and the stars are symbols for Italy. The Greek letter omega (in upper and lower case) as the last letter of the alphabet symbolises death. "4 NOV 1927" is presumably the date the memorial was erected.}

2020: Initially 'Anno VI' defeated us but Gianni Patratti wrote via Facebook and unlocked this mystery by introducing us to the Era Fascista calendar. In 1927 the Italian Fascist government named 29 October 1922, the day that Mussolini became prime minister, as day 1 of the Fascist Era, and used Roman numerals to denote the years. So Anno I ran through until 28 October 1923, and the next day was the first day of Anno II, and so on. Thus 4 November 1927 was in Anno VI.

Site: St Peters Church - Arandora Star (3 memorials)

EC1, Clerkenwell Road, St Peter's Church

We visited this site on a sunny Sunday morning - a short bike ride in reality but more like hundreds of miles to a quiet Italian town: the church; the delicatessen next door; three-generation families; dumpy old dears in black; arrogant, chic young people; all socialising before church - the sights and sounds of Italy on a London street.

The two war memorials were erected on 4 November, the date, in 1918, on which the war ended for Italy, when Austria-Hungary surrendered to Italy. They are both in the large porch of the church, with the Arandora Star carving above the war memorial. The plaque about the church can be seen in our photo on the street frontage.

Our thanks to Cathy Surowiec who provided the translations for us.

St Peter's Italian Catholic Church (Chiesa Italiana di San Pietro) website. The annual Procession in Honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has run every year since the 1880s and was the first such Roman Catholic celebration to be allowed following centuries of repression.

Credit for this entry to: Cathy Surowiec

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 Peters Church - WW1 and WW2

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

Show all 177

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
St Peters Church - WW1 and WW2

Created by i

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
St Peters Church - WW1 and WW2

Also at this site i

St Peters Church

St Peters Church

St Peter’s Italian Church – 1863 In 1845 St Vincent Pallotti a R.C. priest a...

Read More

St Peters Church - Arandora Star

St Peters Church - Arandora Star

This carved memorial shows 3 drowning men reaching up to the cross from the w...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Somerset House War Memorial

Somerset House War Memorial

WC2, Riverside terrace, Somerset House

Unveiled in the Somerset House quadrangle in 1924. Moved to the Thames side terrace in 2002.

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
King's Cross war memorial - 1. pre-renovations

King's Cross war memorial - 1. pre-renovations

N1, Euston Road, King's Cross Station

There are 937 names, listed alphabetically (with a few out of sequence) in 11 columns. These names were in the original WW1 memorial whi...

War dead | WW1
941 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Thames head

Thames head

GL7, Tetbury Road, near Kemble, Tewksbury Mead

The lettering in this granite stone was originally picked out, probably in gold or black, but now the only way to see that the lettering ...

1 subject commemorated
Baker Street war memorial

Baker Street war memorial

NW1, Baker Street Station

Made of Carrara marble. The list of names is contained within an arch composed of fluted Ionic columns supporting an allegorical statue g...

War dead | WW1
139 subjects commemorated, 3 creators
Surbiton war memorial - WW1 names and WW2

Surbiton war memorial - WW1 names and WW2

KT6, Ewell Road

There are several names at the bottom of the memorial which are not in alphabetical order. Presumably these were added after the memorial...

War dead | WW1
388 subjects commemorated

Previously viewed

Royal Australian Air Force remembrance stone

Royal Australian Air Force remembrance stone

SW11, Battersea Park

Above this plaque is a black stone carved with the RAAF badge. The plaque refers to "the Australian Memorial Garden and House". The Gar...

3 subjects commemorated, 3 creators
Eleanor Rathbone

Eleanor Rathbone

Politician and social reformer. Born Eleanor Florence Rathbone at 14 Prince's Gardens, according to the ODNB, our trusted source; others say Liverpool. She made an extensive study of the position o...

Person, Politics & Administration, Social Welfare

2 memorials