Memorial details

Memorial type
Sculptured / Cast group
District
Dover
Town
Dover
County
Kent
Country
England
Commemoration
First World War (1914-1918), Second World War (1939-1945)
Ceremony
  • Dedicated
    Date: 28 October 1922
    Attended by: Bishop Suffragan of Dover
  • Rededicated
    Date: 28 October 2022
    Attended by: The Port of Dover’s Padre (Reverend David Slater) performed the service.
  • Unveiled
    Date: 8 December1947
    Attended by: Colonel Eric Gore Browne, D.S.O., Chairman of the Southern Railway.
  • Unveiled
    Date: 28 October 1922
    Attended by: Chairman of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway Managing Committee, R H Cosmo-Bonsor.
  • Show More (3)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
1588

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Current location

Note there are 2 Dover Cruise Terminals; the memorial is in the former Railway Station
i.e. Terminal 1. (The memorial is not in a 'public area'
but access can usually be gained by speaking to staff at the security barrier and explaining the purpose of the visit).
Dover Cruise Terminal 1 (former Dover Marine Railway Station)
Western Docks
Dover
Dover
Kent
CT17 9EQ
England

OS Grid Ref: TR 32110 40160
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Description
A group of bronze figures on a granite plinth, with an associated granite wall. Attached to the statue's plinth is a tablet, inscribed in incised gilt lettering. The four bronze figures on the plinth comprise a tall winged "Victory", holding the Torch of Truth aloft in her right hand. Beneath her right wing stands a uniformed sailor; beneath her left wing stands a helmeted soldier with rifle. Behind her is a uniformed bugler (who is facing the nearby wall bearing the names of the WW1 casualties). The associated granite wall is a round-headed arch, with a weeping figure at top-left and top-right corners. At top-centre is a roundel, with the Railway Companies' names. Beneath that is a relief-carved laurel wreath, flanked by the dates 1914 1918. The inset panel below is inscribed with the names of employees who died in WW1. [N.B. The memorial lists just WW1 names. The tablet fixed to the plinth states the number of WW2 casualties, but their names are not inscribed on the memorial].
Inscription
Plinth tablet: TO THE IMMORTAL MEMORY/ OF THE 556 MEN OF THE/ SOUTH EASTERN AND CHATHAM RAILWAY WHO FOUGHT AND DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914- 1918/ AND TO THE 626 MEN OF THE / SOUTHERN RAILWAY/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE 1939-1945 WAR. [N.B. When unveiled in 1922, the plinth's inscription read: 'TO THE IMMORTAL MEMORY/ OF THE 556 MEN OF THE/ SOUTH EASTERN AND CHATHAM RAILWAY WHO FOUGHT AND DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914- 1918'. In December 1947, the following wording was added: "AND TO THE 278 MEN OF THE EASTERN SECTION OF THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE 1939-1945 WAR". At a later date, that inscription was covered over by the tablet which states that 626 died in WW2]. Wall: THE SOUTH EASTERN AND CHATHAM RAILWAY COMPANIES/ MANAGING COMMITTEE./ 1914 1918/ LET THOSE WHO COME AFTER SEE TO IT THAT THEIR NAMES BE NOT FORGOTTEN./ GENERAL OFFICES/ (NAMES)/ GOODS DEPARTMENT/ (NAMES)/ ENGINEERS DEPARTMENT/ (NAMES)/ COACHING DEPARTMENT/ (NAMES)/ OUTDOOR LOCOMOTIVE DEPARTMENT/ (NAMES)/ LOCO CARRIAGE & WAGON DEPARTMENT/ (NAMES)/ MARINE DEPARTMENT/ (NAMES)/ OTHER DEPARTMENTS/ (NAMES)./ 5222 MEN OF THE SOUTH EASTERN AND CHATHAM RAILWAY SERVED IN THE WAR. OF THESE, 556 WHOSE NAMES ARE INSCRIBED HEREON GAVE THEIR LIVES.
Inscription legible?
yes
Commemorations
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 556
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 556
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Initials, surname, former work Department
    Order of information: Grouped by Department, then listed alphabetically by surname
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 0
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 0
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: The inscription states only the number of casualties, not their names.
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Figures
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Bronze
  • Plinth
    Measurements: depth 2000MM, height 5000MM, width 2000MM
    Materials: Granite
  • Wall
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Granite
Listing information
  • CRUISE TERMINAL 1, INCLUDING ATTACHED PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY, WAR MEMORIAL, FOUR K6 TELEPHONE KIOSKS AND SHIP'S FIGUREHEAD BELIEVED TO BE OF THE BARQUE 'ROSEAU'
  • Grade II
  • This memorial is protected, and listed on the National Heritage List for England maintained by Historic England. View list entry
  • More about listing and the protection of historic places can be found on the Historic England website
  • Historic England
Condition
History
28 October 2022: The memorial was re-dedicated.// 1994: The station closed to rail traffic, and was acquired by the Dover Harbour Board; in 1996 the building re-opened as a cruise liner terminal.// 21 June 1989: The Station building and memorial were Grade II Listed (List Entry Number 1273179).// 1979: Dover Marine Station was renamed 'Dover Western Docks'.// c1948: Evidently, the number of WW2 fatalities was realised to be inaccurate, as a tablet was added to the plinth (covering the initial inscription), stating that 626 men of the Southern Railway died in WW2.// 8 December 1947: An inscription was added to the plinth which, according to several publications, read: "AND TO THE 278 MEN OF THE EASTERN SECTION OF THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE 1939-1945 WAR".// 28 October 1922: The WW1 statue/wall memorial commemorating railway employees was unveiled and dedicated. (At that time, the dedicatory WW1 inscription was incised on the statue's plinth).// 1913: Construction of the Dover Marine Railway Station began. (Though uncompleted at the start of WW1, it was immediately used for ferrying troops out to the battlefields, and conveying sick and wounded troops to UK hospitals on ambulance-trains. In recognition of the role Dover Marine Station played in war transport, the South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies chose to erect their main WW1 memorial here).
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Sponsorship
Corporate
Responsibility
Dover Harbour Board.
Reference
  • For Your Tomorrow: British Second World War Memorials, by Boorman, Derek (pages 39-40). Source: Image Library NIWM; Published 1995 by Sessions, York.
  • An image of the wall in 2012 is viewable at www.disused-stations.org.uk/d/dover_western_docks/index4.shtml
  • Railway World May 1994.
  • Kent & Sussex Courier - Friday 20 October 1922 (page 7) announced: 'A Memorial to the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway and Steamboat employees who fell in the war has been erected on Dover Pier, and will be unveiled by Mr. Cosmo Bonsor on October 28th'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000483/19221020/041/0007 ibid, Friday 3rd November 1922 (page 3) printed a lengthy report of the unveiling, which began: SOUTH EASTERN AND CHATHAM RAILWAY. WAR MEMORIAL UNVEILED AT DOVER. A solemn and imposing ceremony took place at Dover Marine Station, South-Eastern and Chatham Railway, on Saturday morning on the occasion of the unveiling of the war memorial to the 556 men of the Company who gave their lives in the Great war. The memorial, situated at the Calais end of Nos. 3 and 4 platforms, takes the form of a half-draped figure of Victory, bearing aloft the Torch of Truth and surrounded by a soldier, sailor and bugler. To quote the words of the sculptor "She is led by a sailor, typically eager, and by a soldier, dogged in spite of weariness." Close at hand a bugler is sounding the "Last Post." The whole Is worked in bronze, standing on a high granite base, and is the work of the well-known sculptor, Mr. W. C. H. King. The figures are above life size, and on the granite base of the memorial is cut the following inscription:-- "To the Immortal Memory of the 556 Men of the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway who fought and died for their Country in the Great War, 1914-18." Some fifteen feet behind, a twenty-five feet high Bath stone wall has been erected at the end of a block of offices, situated between the platforms, and is intended as a screen to the memorial. In the top centre of the wall a wreath has been cut, and below the inscription: "Let those who come after see that their names be not forgotten." Then follow the names, divided in the following groups: - General Offices, Goods Department, Engineers' Department, Coaching Department, Outdoor Locomotive Department, Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Department, Marine Department, other Departments. Underneath is the inscription: "5,222 men of the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway served in the Great War. Of these, 556 whose names are inscribed hereon gave their lives." [The report mentioned that approximately 1500 people attended the ceremony; that the memorial was unveiled by Mr. H. Cosmo O. Bonsor, Chairman of the South-Companies' Managing Committee (who stated in his speech that 5,000 employees of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Companies had voluntarily enlisted during the War), and that the memorial was dedicated by the Bishop of Dover]. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000483/19221103/020/0003
  • Southeastern Railway website, report dated 28/10/2022 of the rededication of the memorial: newsroom.southeasternrailway.co.uk/news/southeastern-celebrates-and-commemorates-the-role-of-armed-forces-veterans
  • A photo of the memorial at time of unveiling (1922) is viewable at www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/resources/unveiling-of-dover-marine-station-war-memorial
  • Kent & Sussex Courier - Friday 20 October 1922 (page 7) announced: 'A Memorial to the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway and Steamboat employees who fell in the war has been erected on Dover Pier, and will be unveiled by Mr. Cosmo Bonsor on October 28th'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000483/19221020/041/0007 ibid, Friday 3rd November 1922 (page 3) printed a lengthy report of the unveiling, which began: SOUTH EASTERN AND CHATHAM RAILWAY. WAR MEMORIAL UMVEILED AT DOVER. A solemn and imposing ceremony took place at Dover Marine Station, South-Eastern and Chatham Railway, on Saturday morning on the occasion of the unveiling pf the war memorial to the 556 men of the Company who gave their lives in the Great war. The memorial, situated at the Calais end of Nos. 3 and 4 platforms, takes the form of a half-draped figure of Victory, bearing aloft the Torch of Truth and surrounded by a soldier, sailor and bugler. To quote the words of the sculptor "She is led by a sailor, typically eager and by a soldier, dogged in spite of weariness." Close at hand a bugler is sounding the "Last Post." The whole Is worked in bronze, standing on a high granite base, and is the work of the well-known sculptor, Mr. W. C. H. King. The figures are above life size, and on the granite base of the memorial is cut the following inscription:-- "To the , Immortal Memory of the 556 Men of the Sooth-Eastern and Chatham Railway who fought and died for their Country in the Great War, 1914-18." Some fifteen feet behind a twenty-five feet high Bath stone wall has been erected at the end of a block of offices, situated between the platforms, and is intended as a screen to the memorial. In the top centre of the wall a wreath has been cut, and below the inscription: "Let those who come after see that their names be not forgotten." Then follow the names, divided in the following groups: - General Offices, Goods Department, Engineers' Department, Coaching Department, Outdoor Locomotive Department, Locomotive. Carriage and Wagon Department, Marine Department, other Departments. Underneath is the inscription: "5,222 men of the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway served in the Great War. Of these 556, whose names are inscribed hereon, gave their lives." [The report mentioned that approximately 1500 people attended the ceremony; that the the memorial was unveiled by Mr. H. Cosmo O. Bonsor, Chairman of the South-Companies' Managing Committee (who stated in his speech that 5,000 employees of the S.E. & C. Railway Company had voluntarily enlisted during the War); and that the memorial was dedicated by the Bishop of Dover]. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000483/19221103/020/0003
  • Roll of Honour website: www.roll-of-honour.com/Kent/DoverMarine.html
  • Carter Postcard Collection
  • The Dover War Memorial Project website: www.doverwarmemorialproject.org.uk South Eastern and Chatham Railway Memorial
  • Local Publication/Booklet, 'Southern Region Magazine', January 1948 (page 2): Unveiling of an inscription to the 278 men of the Eastern Section of the Southern Railway by Col Eric Gore-Brown, Chairman of the Southern Railway. (NB this inscription was evidently covered by the tablet that states 626 men died)
  • Kentish Express - Friday 12 December 1947 (page 1) printed a photo of the memorial, accompanied by the following text: 'WELL-KNOWN TO PASSENGERS at Dover Marine Station, this fine war memorial to the men of the former South-Eastern and Chatham Railway who gave their lives in the 1914-18 War now bears an added inscription commemorating the 278 men [sic] of the Eastern Section of the Southern Railway who fell in the late war. It was unveiled by the Chairman of the Company, Colonel E. G. Browne, D.S.O., on Monday in the presence of directors, officers and staff, together with the Mayor of Dover (Ald. A. T. Goodfellow), the Town Clerk (Mr. J. A. Johnson) and officers of the Dover Harbour Board'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003535/19471212/145/0001
  • The Railway Magazine v.51 pages 484-5 (1922)
  • War Memorials, by Whittick, A (pp.100, 103) Country Life 1946, London.
  • Railway Gazette 3 November 1922 pp.555-557.
  • Illustrated London News 4 November 1922 p.704
  • Historic England, Official List Entry re Grade II Listing on 21/6/1989. (Includes a detailed description and photos of the memorial). historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1273179?section=official-list-entry

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

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