Arthur George Walker (20 October 1861 – 13 September 1939) was an English sculptor and painter. Among his best-known works are several war memorials and the statue of Florence Nightingale in Waterloo Place, London.
Personal life
Arthur George Walker was born 20 October 1861 to Robert Walker and his wife in Hackney, London. Robert Walker was a ship owner and surveyor.Arthur George Walker RA. Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011. Retrieved 19 Aug 2012.] Until 1911, Walker lived with his Aunt Isabella and two siblings, Emily and Harold. He studied at the Royal Academy from about 1883 to 1887 and during this time won various prizes. He died aged 77 on 13 September 1939 in England.
Works War memorials Work LocationImageNotes and ReferencesHeath Town War MemorialHeath Town, WolverhamptonThis memorial, situated in the centre of Heath Town Park, has a bronze sculpture by Walker depicting a soldier and some relief panels on the side of the memorial's pedestal. One of the relief panels shows an aeroplane taking off and the other depicts a naval scene. The bronze casting work involved was carried out by the G.Fiorini Foundry.Wolverhampton City Council. Retrieved 22 October 2012Heath Town War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Ironbridge War MemorialIronbridge, ShropshireThe Ironbridge War Memorial is located close to the famous Ironbridge and features a life size sculpture of a soldier in full marching order. The soldier stands on a pedestal. There are three plaques attached to the memorial. One is inscribed "IN GRATEFUL / AND UNDYING MEMORY / OF THE VALIANT MEN / OF IRON BRIDGE / WHO LAID DOWN / THEIR LIVES / IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1919 / WE THANK OUR GOD UPON / EVERY REMEMBRANCE OF YOU"the second lists the names of those 53 Ironbridge men lost in the Great War and the third is inscribed" THE CHURCH CLOCK WAS / ILLUMINATED AS A MEMORIAL / TO THE FOLLOWING MEN OF / IRONBRIDGE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DURING THE 1939–1945 WAR. / (10 names)"The memorial was unveiled on 8 March 1924 by Col.A.N.B.Garrett.Ironbridge War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Ironbridge Statues Hither and Dither. Website with photographs of Ironbridge War Memorial. Retrieved 26 October 2012Heston War MemorialHeston, MiddlesexHeston War Memorial stands in a garden at a junction of the Heston Road. It remembers the dead of both World Wars and comprises a York stone pedestal with a Portland stone sculpture of a soldier leaning on his rifle which is reversed. There are relief panels on two sides of the pedestal. 99 Heston men lost in the First World War are remembered and their names listed. Those lost in the Second World War are not listed. The memorial was unveiled on 1 June 1918 by a Mrs Becker.Heston War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Bury St Edmunds. South African War MemorialBury St Edmunds, SuffolkThis memorial is inscribed "VULNERATUS NON VICTUS / THIS MONUMENT / WAS ERECTED BY SUFFOLK PEOPLE AS A MEMORIAL / TO SUFFOLK SOLDIERS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE / SOUTH AFRICAN WAR / 1899–1902" and has a bronze depiction of a soldier leaning on a rock as well as the coat of arms of the West Suffolk County Council. The soldier is bare-headed. A total of 193 Suffolk men who died in the Boer War are remembered. The unveiling took place on 12 November 1904. Walker was assisted by the mason Mr.A.H.Hanchet." For Remembrance and in Honour of Those Who Lost Their Lives in the South African War 1899–1902" by James Gildea. Page 193. Published 1911Bury St Edmunds. South African War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Old Salopians MemorialShrewsbury School, ShropshireThis memorial is located in the apex of the angle in the Central Avenue which leads to the school's front gates and the school itself. It lists those boys of Shrewsbury School who died in the two World Wars. It comprises a Portland stone plinth upon which is a pedestal surmounted by a bronze statue of Sir Philip Sidney. There are also two relief panels one of which depicts a scene in the trenches and the other depicts Sir Philip's death at the Battle of Zutphen. The memorial also bears the school's coat of arms. The memorial gives the names of those who gave their lives in the 1914–1918 war, a total of 322 men in all and another 259 names of those men lost in the 1939–1945 conflict. The memorial was unveiled on 24 May 1923 by Lt Gen Sir Harold Bridgwood Walker. General Sir Bernard Paget was present in 1948 when the names of those lost in the 1939–1945 conflict were unveiled. Walker carried out the sculptural work, and the bronze casting was carried out by A.B.Burton at the Thames Ditton Foundry.Old Salopians Memorial – WW1 and WW2 and Sir Philip Sidney statue UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Old Salopians Memorial Statues Hither and Dither. Website with photographs of Ironbridge War Memorial. Retrieved 26 October 2012The Memorial to the 6th Battalion Gordon HighlandersKeith, MorayThis memorial stands in a memorial garden in Keith's Main Road. The inscription reads "6TH (BANFFSHIRE & DONSIDE) BATTALION OF THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS" and a depiction of a Gordon Highlander in kilt and bonnet and with rifle raised at the ready stands on a large plinth. The plinth is of sandstone and the Highlander is in bronze. The battalion depot was based in Keith, hence the choice of location.The Memorial to the 6th Battalion Gordon Highlanders UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Derby War MemorialDerbyThe memorial is located in Derby's Cathedral Quarter and on the south side of Market Place near to the Guidhall entrance. The memorial honours the dead of the two World Wars and dates to 1924. The Cross, pedestal and base are all of sandstone and Walker's sculpture is of bronze as are the plaques. The whole memorial comprises a sandstone ashlar monument with a cross on a pedestal all on a three-stepped base. The bronze figure of a mother and child features in the centre of the memorial. The original unveiling took place on 11 November 1924 and there was a re-dedication in 1994. The architect was Charles Clayton Thompson and the bronze casting was by A.B.Burton. Walker's sculpture is often assumed to represent the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus but the notes in the unveiling ceremony programme refer to it as "... a typical English mother [and] her son ...".Derby War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Bassingbourn and Kneesworth War MemorialBassingbourn cum Kneesworth, CambridgeshireThis memorial stands at the junction of the High Street and North End and consists of a three-stepped square base surmounted by a double plinth, tapered shaft and Celtic cross with an inscription on the faces of the upper plinth. A laurel wreath is carved in relief on the front face of the upper plinth. The memorial stands in the centre of an enclosure formed by four low red brick walls. Walker designed the memorial and did whatever carving was involved. This village lost 42 men in the 1914–1918 war and another 11 in the 1939–1945 conflict. The unveiling took place on 22 May 1921.Bassingbourn and Kneesworth War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Memorial in St Werburgh's ChurchDerbySt Werburgh's has a wall-mounted cast-bronze figure of Christ with His arms outstretched surmounting a plaque. The bow fronted plaque has a relief at the head with six wings surrounding a cherub's face and a Latin cross at the centre with names in raised upright lettering in two columns. The inscription reads "Remember 1914–1918 / (Names) / Blessed are the Peacemakers" A total of 47 men are listed.Memorial in St Werburgh’s Church UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Limehouse War MemorialCommercial Road, Limehouse, Greater LondonIn St Anne in the East Church, this memorial carries the inscription "TO THE GLORY OF / GOD / AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE MEN OF LIMEHOUSE WHO FELL IN / THE GREAT WAR 1914–1918 / GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS / OF ANY NAMES NOT ENGRAVED IN PERISHABLE STONE / GOD HOLDS ETERNAL RECORD IN HIS HEART ALONE"The memorial comprises a bronze figure of Jesus Christ and a relief panel depicting a scene in the trenches (a duplicate of that on the Old Salopians Memorial). 458 Limehouse men are remembered. The memorial was unveiled on 28 May 1921 by General The Lord Byng of Vimy.Limehouse War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Dartford War MemorialDartford, KentA bronze statue of a British Tommy on a stepped granite pedestal with inscribed bronze plaques. Commemorates the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War.
Walker was selected after the Dartford War Memorial Committee saw his memorial in Sevenoaks which uses the same "British Tommy" figure. It is written that the sculptor sketched his design for the Tommy from life; the model was a soldier, recently returned from Flanders with whom the artist corresponded on his return to the trenches. According to Walker the man survived to see photographs of the finished statue. The founders A.B.Burton carried out the bronze casting.Dartford War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 25 October 2012Sevenoaks War MemorialSevenoaks, KentThis memorial has the sculpture of the soldier used for the Ironbridge and Dartford memorials and carries the inscription "TO KEEP IN MIND THOSE FROM THIS PLACE / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914–1918"There are two relief panels with Naval and Air Force scenes.Sevenoaks War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 26 October 2012Chesham War MemorialChesham, BuckinghamshireAnother version of the soldier used at Ironbridge, Dartford and Sevenoaks and this time in Portland stone, appears on Chesham's memorial. The inscription here reads "TO THE / GLORIOUS MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF / THIS TOWN WHO / GAVE THEIR LIVES / AND TO HONOUR / ALL WHO SERVED / OR SUFFERED IN / THE CAUSE OF GOD / KING AND COUNTRY / THEIR DEEDS LIVE AFTER THEM / FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH"185 men of Chesham were lost in the 1914–1918 war and 77 in the 1939–1945 war.Chesham War Memorial UKNIWM Report. Retrieved 27 October 2012Dickleburgh War MemorialDickleburgh, NorfolkDickleburgh War Memorial is a stone latin cross which was unveiled in 1920. The memorial lists 20 names for the First World War and nine for the Second World War.
Memorials to individuals and other statues