Anglo-Belgian War Memorial

Memorial

What is recorded here

To the British nation from the grateful people of Belgium, 1914–1918

Read the whole record

To the British nation from the grateful people of Belgium, 1914–1918

The Anglo-Belgian War Memorial is Belgium's public thank-you to Britain for support during the First World War. Belgian sculptor Victor Rousseau designed the Portland-stone monument facing the Thames, with Belgium at its centre and reliefs of wartime suffering and aid. Unveiled in 1920, it remembers invasion and exile but chiefly records a relationship between two nations created through refuge, military help and shared loss.

Why it was made

Belgium commissioned the memorial in gratitude after Britain entered the war following the German invasion of Belgium in 1914. Britain fought beside Belgian forces and received large numbers of Belgian refugees, giving the gift both military and civilian meaning.

People and events

Victor Rousseau designed the sculpture and Sir Reginald Blomfield arranged its setting. Belgian representatives and members of the British royal family attended the 1920 unveiling, making the exchange of thanks a formal public act.

How it worked

A central female figure represents Belgium, while reliefs and accompanying figures show justice, honour, suffering and help. Its inscription directly addresses the British nation, so the monument speaks as a gift from one people to another.

What remains

The main stone group, bronze figures, reliefs and bilingual purpose survive on Victoria Embankment opposite Cleopatra's Needle. Weathering and repair have altered details, but the composition and its national message remain legible.

Why it mattered

The memorial adds refugees and international obligation to London's story of the First World War. It records how Belgium understood British action after 1914 and provides a rare capital monument presented by another country as thanks.