The Earl Haig Memorial is a bronze equestrian statue of the British Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

 commander Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...

 on Whitehall

Whitehall

Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...

 in Westminster

Westminster

Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

. It was created by the sculptor Alfred Frank Hardiman

Alfred Frank Hardiman

Alfred Frank Hardiman , sculptor, was born at 17 Orde Hall Street, London, the son of Alfred William Hardiman, silversmith, of Holborn, and his wife, Ada Myhill....

 and commissioned by Parliament in 1928. Eight years in the making, it aroused considerable controversy, the Field Marshal's riding position, his uniform, the anatomy and stance of the horse all drawing harsh criticism. The inscription on the statue base reads 'Field Marshal Earl Haig Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France 1915-1918'.

History

Hardiman had won the commission in competition with his fellow sculptors Gilbert Ledward

Gilbert Ledward

Gilbert Ledward RA , was an English sculptor.He won the Prix de Rome for sculpture in 1913, and in World War I served in the Royal Garrison Artillery and later as a war artist. He was professor of sculpture at the Royal College of Art and in 1937 was elected a Royal Academician...

 and William Macmillan

William MacMillan

William MacMillan or McMillan may refer to:*Bill MacMillan , hockey player and coach*William Duncan MacMillan , American mathematician and astronomer*William J. P...

. His winning model showed Haig riding a classical charger befitting a hero, derived from Hardiman's studies of renaissance equestrian sculpture. The Press and Lady Haig weighed in, asking why Earl Haig could not be portrayed with realism riding his own horse, Poperinghe. Eventually Hardiman was asked to produce a second model, but in trying to accommodate his critics the sculptor produced a compromise that pleased no-one. The design went back to Cabinet and they were persuaded to allow him a free hand in the execution of the full-sized statue, George Lansbury

George Lansbury

George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....

 writing: "I feel confident that if your genius is unfettered you will give us a memorial worthy of the Field Marshal

Field Marshal

Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

, the nation and yourself". The memorial was unveiled by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was a soldier and member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary....

 on 10 November 1937, with King George VI

George VI of the United Kingdom

George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...

laying a wreath at the base on Armistice Day.