| Promenade de Verdun War Memorial | |
| Type: | War memorial |
| Map Relief: | yes |
| Coordinates: | 51.3367°N -0.136°W |
| Location: | Woodcote, Purley, London Borough of Croydon |
| Built: | 1922 |
| Designation1: | Historic garden |
| Designation1 Offname: | Promenade de Verdun Memorial Landscape |
| Designation1 Date: | 18 February 2016 |
| Designation2: | Grade II |
| Designation2 Offname: | Promenade de Verdun War Memorial |
| Designation2 Date: | 18 February 2016 |
The Promenade de Verdun War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the garden village of Woodcote, Purley, in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It was designed by a local surveyor, William Webb, who had laid out the garden village in the early 20th century. Webb determined on a memorial to the soldiers of France who were killed in the First World War; as a commemoration of their sacrifice, and as a means to foster good relations between the United Kingdom and the Republic of France. The memorial consists of a 0.5 km boulevard, lined with Lombardy poplars planted in 10 tonnes of soil brought from France, and culminating in a 6m high obelisk carved from Cornish granite. The obelisk is inscribed; "AUX/ SOLDATS DE FRANCE/ MORTS GLORIEUSEMENT/ PENDANT LA GRAND GUERRE" and was unveiled in 1922. The stone is a Grade II listed structure and the setting is registered on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.
Woodcote Garden Village was laid out in the early 20th century by William Webb (1862–1930),[1] a surveyor and businessman from Kent. Webb bought the land in the 1890s and construction of the village took place between 1901 and 1920. Work was interrupted by the First World War, and at its end, Webb determined on the establishment of a memorial to the soldiers of France who had died in the conflict. His joint aims were to honour the dead of Britain's greatest ally and to cement good relations between the two countries. At the time of the memorial's construction, post-war relations between France and England were at a low ebb, due to differences in approach as to how to extract war reparations from their joint enemy, Germany.[2]
The memorial's name, Verdun, is taken from the Battle of Verdun, which took place on the Western Front in France from 21 February to 18 December 1916 and was the longest engagement of the First World War. The French and the German armies each sustained over a third of a million casualties. In 2016, to commemorate the centenary of the battle, the war memorial and its setting were among three in Britain recognising French sacrifice which were given listed building status.
Many of the trees which line the avenue were destroyed in the Great storm of 1987. Croydon London Borough Council, which owns and operates the site, has since undertaken replanting.[3] [4]
Webb chose a slightly rising site for the memorial and laid out a 0.5 km boulevard which culminates in the obelisk carved from a single slab of Cornish granite. The road is lined with lined with Lombardy poplars, to echo traditional French street planting, bedded in 10 tonnes of soil brought from France.[4] The soil, donated by the French government, came from Armentières on the Franco-Belgian border. It was sifted prior to use and two sack loads of shrapnel and bullets were extracted.[5] The memorial landscape is listed at Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. The obelisk is a Grade II listed structure. It carries the inscription: "AUX/ SOLDATS DE FRANCE/ MORTS GLORIEUSEMENT/ PENDANT LA GRAND GUERRE".