Memorial details
- Memorial type
- Sculptured / Cast figure
- District
- Bristol
- Town
- Bristol
- County
- Avon
- Country
- England
- Commemoration
- 20th Century Wars (1900-1999)
- Maker
- Stephen Joyce (Sculptor)
- Ceremony
- Unveiled
Date: 23 May 2003
Attended by: Councillor Terry Walker (Chair of the Fire Authority) performed the unveiling.
- Unveiled
- Lost
- Not lost
- WM Reference
- 89770
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Current location
By the corner of Temple Back and Water Lane
Avon Fire and Rescue Station
Temple Back
Bristol
Bristol
Avon
BS1 6EU
England
OS Grid Ref: ST 59359 72817
Denomination: Undefined
- Description
- Bronze resin life-size figure of a bare-headed firefighter, with one hand raised above his head, and the other by his side holding his firefighter helmet. The figure stands on a stone cube base, which is now upon a white marble plinth to which a black marble inscription plaque is fixed. (When first erected, a separate metal plaque was fixed to a nearby wall, which recorded the unveiling date and details). The memorial commemorates members of the Bristol Fire Service who have died in the line of duty, including those who died in both World Wars.
- Inscription
- GREATER LOVE HATH/ NO MAN THAN THIS/ THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE/ FOR HIS FRIENDS
- Inscription legible?
- yes
- Commemorations
- 20th Century Wars (1900-1999)
Total names on memorial: 0
Served and returned: 0
Died: 0
Exact count: yes
Information shown: Undefined
Order of information: Undefined
- 20th Century Wars (1900-1999)
- Components
- Figure
Measurements: height 1900mm
Materials: Bronze, Resin - Base
Measurements: Undefined
Materials: Stone - Plinth
Measurements: Undefined
Materials: Marble - Plaque
Measurements: Undefined
Materials: Marble - Black
- Figure
- Listing information
- This memorial is not currently listed. Find out how to nominate this memorial for inclusion on the National Heritage List for England
- More about listing and the protection of historic places can be found on the Historic England website
- Condition
- History
- 2018: the sculpture was moved along Temple Back, to its current site near the corner of Water Lane./ pre 2013: the figure and base were raised to sit upon a white marble plinth that has a black marble plaque attached with the gold-painted inscription "Greater love hath no man..."./ 23/5/2003: the memorial was unveiled, comprising a life-size figure of a firefighter standing on a stone base that bore no inscription; an associated metal plaque was fixed to a nearby wall, inscribed with the date of the unveiling.
- Costs
Memorial: c£19,000
- Trust fund/Scholarship
- No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A - Sponsorship
- Public
Details: Following a fundraising campaign in the wake of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York on 11th September 2001 (in which 343 Firefighters died), more than £19,000 was donated by staff, businesses and members of the public across the four unitary authorities served by Avon Fire Authority, in order to commission a memorial to commemorate Bristol Firefighters who have died in the line of duty, including during both World Wars. - Responsibility
- Avon Fire and Rescue Service
- Reference
- Public Sculpture of Britain Volume 12: Public Sculpture of Bristol, by Douglas Merritt & Frances Greenacre with Katharine Eustace (2011)
- www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/206340/
- Somerset County War Memorials 2nd Edition, published by the Royal British Legion (January 2009).
- Bristol Live report (dated 15/3/2018) re the decision to retain the statue within the City, and place it at the new Fire HQ in Temple Back www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/firefighter-memorial-statue-moves-new-1345896
- Avon Fire and Rescue Newsletter dated 28/9/2017, re possible relocation of the statue to Portishead www.avonfire.gov.uk/all-areas/2071-views-sought-on-a-new-home-for-firefighter-memorial-statue
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.
This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.
This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:
© WMR-89770
For queries, please contact [email protected].