The Victory Arch at Waterloo Station Was Rededicated in 2022

Rededication Ceremony

A century ago, not even four years after the Great War ended, London's Waterloo station’s Victory Arch was opened to pay tribute to the railway colleagues who fought and died for their country. The ceremony, led by Queen Mary—Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother—also marked the end of a long, 20-year rebuilding of the station by the London and South Western Railway, leaving the station with much the same layout as it is today. Waterloo became Britain’s largest and busiest station. 

Full Entrance and Arch (Pre-Restoration)

On Monday 21 March 2022, the arch was rededicated by the Reverend Christopher Henley, Railway Chaplain, supported by a host of senior colleagues from the London and South Western Railway’s successors at Network Rail and South Western Railway, along with those from the Railway Heritage Trust, British Transport Police and the armed forces. 

Detail: Goddess of War

The memorial was originally dedicated to 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. Inside the arch are panels listing the railroad's fallen of both World Wars. The memorial was revealed when the new station was opened by Queen Mary on 21 March 1922.

Detail: Peace

Waterloo Station was concluding a long-term reconstruction at the end of the Great War. As the station rebuild was drawing to a close, the LSWR commissioned the Victory Arch  and as a memorial to their staff that died in the First World War. The arch was designed by J R Scott, their chief architect.

 

Detail: Victory

Sources: Company Insight; London Remembers; RailUK