19 Nov 2014
The Battlefield of Waterloo has boasted monuments to all nations that fought at the great battle, including French, Prussian, Belgian and Hanoverian, but there has never been a Monument to the British Army that fought at Waterloo.
The Duke of Wellington commanded all allied troops but his 33,000 British troops, many of whom were Peninsular Veterans, were regarded by both Wellington and Napoleon as being the backbone of the allied army.
Now at last after a huge fund raising effort supported by a grant from the British Government a monument to the British Army will be unveiled on the 17th June 2015 as part of the 200 year anniversary of the battle.
A competition was held by the UK Charity Project Hougoumont Limited who invited several sculptors to submit designs based upon an accepted outline design which was agreed with the Local Belgian Authorities in 2013.
The winner of the competition was Vivien Mallock whose work includes busts of Her Majesty the Queen and the Queen Mother among many other award winning designs.
The theme of the Monument is "Closing the Gates on War" as Waterloo was the last time a British and French army fought each other bringing to an end almost 800 years of intermittent conflict.
Barry Van Danzig, CEO of the charity and sponsor of the monument, commented
"This has been a real team effort and the Monument reflects well upon all those involved in both the UK and Belgium. We are particularly grateful to the authorities in Belgium who have permitted the monument to be erected in the restored buildings of Hougoumont on the field of Waterloo"
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For further information please contact
Sophie Bouallègue
Press & PR Manager
Belgian Tourist Office-Brussels & Wallonia
020 7531 0392
