In the main pedestrian entrance at Waterloo Station, the Victory Arch (now known more prosaically as Exit 5), is the memorial to the 585 men of the London and South Western Railway who died during the First World War. The exterior of the arch, sculpted by Charles Whiffen, comprises, on the left, a representation of Bellona, the goddess of war, and, on the right, Peace. Around the arch are seven shields that show the theatres of war in which the men died—Belgium, Italy, Dardanelles, France, Mesopotamia, Egypt and North Sea. Beneath, the arch is ‘Dedicated to the Employees of the Company Who Fell in the War’. Inside the arch are four bronze panels that list the names of the fallen. The memorial was revealed when the new station was opened by Queen Mary on 21 March 1922.
Also here are plaques dedicated ‘To the memory of the 626 men of the Southern Railway who gave their lives in the 1939 – 1945 War.’ and ‘In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of D-Day, 6th June 1994. In memory of the railway employees who gave their lives on the 6th June 1944.’
(Photo Author’s Collection)
Sacrifice 